Castle is on an eight-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Madisonville-North Hopkins is on a nine-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Knights will host the Maroons at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Castle will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Saturday, then bounced right back against Evansville Reitz on Wednesday. The Knights put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 18-1 win. The Knights haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive victory against them.
Sadie Winsett made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two runs.
In other batting news, Emma Bruggenschmidt was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Aubrey Baker, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBI.
Castle hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They are 3-1 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Madisonville-North Hopkins was able to grind out a solid win over Union County on Thursday, taking the game 7-3.
Like Castle, Madisonville-North Hopkins also got a great game from a two-way player: Sadie Kirk. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off seven hits (and only one walk). Kirk was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three runs and one stolen base.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Mackenzie Stoltz, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Katelyn Rodgers was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one home run.
Madisonville-North Hopkins is on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 14 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.9 runs on average over those games. As for Castle, their win bumped their record up to 7-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Castle hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Madisonville-North Hopkins struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Castle's way against Madisonville-North Hopkins when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Castle made off with a 7-0 victory. Will the Knights repeat their success, or do the Maroons have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
