The Oak Harbor Wildcats will face off against the Squalicum Storm at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Oak Harbor will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Lakewood, who they had gone 0-4 against in their four prior meetings. The Wildcats put the hurt on the Cougars with a sharp 11-1 victory on Tuesday. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by six runs or more this season.
The team relied heavily on Ady Morales, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Haylee Burleigh, who earned three runs and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Squalicum). Everything went their way against Bellingham on Tuesday as they made off with a 28-15 win. With that victory, the Storm brought their scoring average up to 7.1 runs per game.
Gabi Gearhart made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Gearhart was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her six plate appearances with one home run and three runs. That home run marked the first that she has launched this season.
In other batting news, Squalicum got a massive performance out of Keeley Meling, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with three stolen bases, six RBI, and four runs. Another player making a difference was Laela Staniford, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with three stolen bases, five runs, and two RBI.
Squalicum always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .674. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Oak Harbor is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. Squalicum's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-13.
Squalicum's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Oak Harbor has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Squalicum, though, as they've been averaging only 3 strikeouts. Will Oak Harbor keep running through batters, or will the Storm buck the trend?
Everything went Oak Harbor's way against Squalicum when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Oak Harbor made off with a 17-4 win. Do the Wildcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Storm turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
