Mount Mercy Academy is 2-7 against Nichols since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Mount Mercy Academy Magic will be staying on the road to face off against the Nichols Vikings at 4:30 p.m.
Mount Mercy Academy's hitters might be in the hot seat on Thursday considering what happened against Sacred Heart Academy on Wednesday. They fell just short of the Sharks by a score of 1-0.
Mount Mercy Academy saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Taylor Jahn, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles.
Meanwhile, Nichols had to endure a six-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Mount St. Mary Academy on Tuesday and snuck past 4-3.
Reyes Rodriguez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she tossed seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Rodriguez has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than six innings in four consecutive pitching appearances. Rodriguez was also big at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ryann O'Carroll, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Gabriella Seneca, who went 1-for-3 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.
Mount Mercy Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 3-9. As for Nichols, their win ended a six-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 3-9.
Nichols' hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Mount Mercy Academy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Nichols, though, as they've been averaging only 3.5. Will Mount Mercy Academy keep running through batters, or will Nichols buck the trend?
Mount Mercy Academy suffered a grim 12-6 defeat to Nichols in their previous matchup back in April. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Rodriguez, who struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up four earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits. Now that Mount Mercy Academy knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
