Eagle Mountain has won five straight games at home, while Decatur has won five straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Knights will host the Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Decatur's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Friday: Eagle Mountain hadn't allowed a single run the last three times they've hit the field. The Knights never let Castleberry get on the board and left with a 10-0 victory on Tuesday.
Karah Cardinal was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. That home run was her first of the season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Zoe Hawthorne, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Kelsey James, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Decatur made easy work of Castleberry on Monday and carried off an 11-5 win.
Like Eagle Mountain, Decatur also got a great game from a two-way player: Alexa Beeson. Throwing, Beeson struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off nine hits (and not a single walk). Meanwhile, Alivia Creasser pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. At the plate, Beeson scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances, while Creasser scored two runs while going 2-for-4. What's more, Creasser posted two doubles, the most she's had since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Decatur got a massive performance out of Hallie Washburn, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Abby Steele, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.
Decatur always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Castleberry only posted an OBP of .333.
Eagle Mountain is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-11-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Decatur, their win bumped their record up to 12-5.
Eagle Mountain beat Decatur 7-4 in their previous meeting back in March. Do the Knights have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Eagles turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
