Softball Game Preview: Rocky Grove Orioles vs. Cranberry Area Berries

The Rocky Grove Orioles are taking a road trip to face off against the Cranberry Area Berries at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Rocky Grove came into their game on Thursday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They lost 10-1 to Saegertown.

Meanwhile, Cranberry Area had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Wednesday. They put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 17-8 win. The result was nothing new for the Berries, who have now won five games by nine runs or more so far this season.

Kellie Schnieder made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She pitched two innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Schnieder was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.

In other batting news, Emma Morrow was a standout: she got on base in four of her five plate appearances with three runs. Another player making a difference was Jadyn Schumaker, who went 1-for-3 with one home run.

Cranberry Area always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .548. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive matches.

Cranberry Area's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-3. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Rocky Grove, they now have a losing record of 3-4.

Rocky Grove couldn't quite finish off Cranberry Area in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 and fell 2-0. Can the Orioles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.