West Valley is 9-1 against Lathrop since May of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The West Valley Wolf Pack will head out on the road to square off against the Lathrop Malemutes at 7:15 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the pair will really light up the scoreboard.
West Valley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: North Pole, who was ranked 18th in their home state at the time (West Valley was ranked 13th). Everything went West Valley's way against North Pole on Friday as West Valley made off with an 11-2 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for West Valley.
Abbey Anthony was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Anthony was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing four bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, Kayla Anthony was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing five bases while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. Hunter Pollen was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Lathrop had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.8 runs), and they went ahead and made it nine on Wednesday. They blew past the Patriots 15-5.
Abbie Evans looked comfortable as she tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Phoebe Holm, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Halle Rainer, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
West Valley's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-4-1. As for Lathrop, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a massive bump to their 10-6-1 record this season.
Thursday's game will be a test for both team's pitchers. West Valley hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .391. However, it's not like Lathrop struggles in that department as they've averaged .346. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
West Valley took their victory against Lathrop when the teams last played back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 10-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for West Valley since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
