The Mulberry Panthers will head out to face off against the Dunedin Falcons at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Mulberry sitting on four straight wins and Dunedin on five.
Mulberry is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They had just enough and edged out Chamberlain 3-2.
Haylie Hightower spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Lorianys Castanon Cruz, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one triple, and one stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of A'Lejah Washington, who went 1-for-2 with one triple and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Dunedin made easy work of Boca Ciega on Wednesday and carried off an 11-5 victory. Considering the Falcons have won ten matches by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Dunedin also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Cael Rogers gave up three earned (and two unearned) runs on seven hits.
On the hitting side, Olivia Preston and Riley Millican did most of the damage at the plate: Preston went 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs, while Millican went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. Those four RBI gave Preston a new career-high. Aliyah Roseman was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.
Mulberry's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-10. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Dunedin, their win bumped their record up to 19-5.
