The Bethlehem Catholic Hawks will square off against the Stroudsburg Mountaineers at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Bethlehem Catholic has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with seven straight losses, while Stroudsburg will come in with three straight victories.
Bethlehem Catholic came up short against Emmaus on Tuesday, falling 16-5.
Sarah Banko was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Meanwhile, while Stroudsburg put up plenty of runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for Pocono Mountain West. The Mountaineers blew past the Panthers 14-0. The result was nothing new for the Mountaineers, who have now won six games by seven runs or more so far this season.
Jordan Cook was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Cook was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That triple was her first of the season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dorothy Elko, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two triples, three RBI, and two runs. She also hit a double, marking her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Morgan Callender, who went 2-for-3 with two triples, three RBI, and two runs.
Stroudsburg was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pocono Mountain West only posted a batting average of .167.
Stroudsburg's win bumped their record up to 8-2. As for Bethlehem Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-8.
Bethlehem Catholic came out on top in a nail-biter against Stroudsburg in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, sneaking past 4-3. Will the Hawks repeat their success, or do the Mountaineers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
