Preview: Downingtown East Cougars vs. Avon Grove Red Devils
The Downingtown East Cougars will play host again on Monday to welcome the Avon Grove Red Devils, where first pitch is scheduled at 3:45 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, Downingtown East never let their opponents score. They blew past Unionville 7-0.
The result came thanks to Rachael Schumann's shutout, as she gave up just one hit and racked up 13 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't pitched less than seven innings every time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Hailey Long, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4. Another player making a difference was Sophia Kucera, who went 2-for-4 with a triple and a run.
Meanwhile, Avon Grove had already won three in a row dating back to last season (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.3 runs), and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They walked away with a 6-2 win over the Hornets.
Payton Hale spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on six hits and racked up ten Ks.
On the hitting side, Leah Clendaniel and Maddie Kelly did most of the damage at the plate: Clendaniel scored a run while going 2-for-2, while Kelly went 1-for-3 with a home run. The team also got some help courtesy of Elle Morris, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Downingtown East pushed their record up to 3-0 with that victory, which was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.7 runs per game. As for Avon Grove, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Downingtown East has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Avon Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.3 per game. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Downingtown East's way against Avon Grove in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 as Downingtown East made off with a 9-1 victory. Will Downingtown East repeat their success, or does Avon Grove have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
