The Strasburg-Franklin Tigers will square off against the Marlington Dukes at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Strasburg-Franklin is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.
Strasburg-Franklin will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Wednesday, then bounced right back against North Ridgeville on Friday. The Tigers put the hurt on the Rangers with a sharp 15-4 victory. Considering the Tigers have won four contests by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Miley Reifenschneider made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one double. That double was her first of the season.
In other batting news, Strasburg-Franklin got a massive performance out of Ella Gilkerson, who went 2-for-4 with one home run and four RBI. Sofia Secrest was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Strasburg-Franklin was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .483. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Marlington owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Friday. They came out on top against Hillsdale by a score of 5-0 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game).
Like Strasburg-Franklin, Marlington also got a great game from a two-way player: Justine Doringo. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out ten over seven innings pitched. Doringo was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Doringo wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Faith Savage, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Another was Chelsea Miller, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one double.
Strasburg-Franklin is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.6 runs over those games. As for Marlington, their victory bumped their record up to 6-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Strasburg-Franklin has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Marlington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Strasburg-Franklin couldn't quite get it done against Marlington in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 as they fell 6-3. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
