Softball Preview: Housatonic Mountaineers vs. Nonnewaug Chiefs
Housatonic has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge the Nonnewaug Chiefs at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Housatonic will head into Wednesday's contest on the come-up: they were handed a two-run loss in their last match, but they sure didn't let that happen against Wamogo Regional last Wednesday. Housatonic put the hurt on Wamogo Regional with a sharp 22-1 victory.
Anne Moran made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. Moran has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings every time she's pitched this season. Moran was also big at the plate, scoring four runs while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, Grace Riva and Abby White did most of the damage at the plate: Riva went 2-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and a stolen base, while White scored three runs while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Diana Portillo, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Nonnewaug waltzed into their matchup on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came out on top against the Highlanders by a score of 9-5.
Like Housatonic, Nonnewaug also got a great game from a two-way player: Jordan Kovach. On the mound, Kovach struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Scarlett Ivey tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. At bat, Kovach went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, a double, and an RBI, while Ivey went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base.
In other batting news, Madison Ocasio was incredible, going 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of Jade Rinaldi, who went 3-for-3 with a triple, a stolen base, and a run.
The win got Housatonic back to even at 3-3. As for Nonnewaug, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a massive bump to their 10-5 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Housatonic has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Nonnewaug struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.9. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Housatonic might still be hurting after the 15-1 defeat they got from Nonnewaug in their previous matchup back in April. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ivey, who struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Now that Housatonic knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
