Grafton had lost five straight on the road, but on Monday they dropped their record down to 8-13 to make it six. They fell just short of the Homestead Highlanders by a score of 5-4. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Highlanders this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 4-2 back in April.
Anna Holzer spent all 7.1 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits and racked up eight Ks.
On the hitting side, Grace Zvara was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run. That home run marked the first that she has launched this season. Another player making a difference was Ava Eernisse, who went 1-for-4 with three stolen bases and one run.
As for Homestead, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-19 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games.
On Homestead's side, they also let their pitcher toss all eight innings and she was also dialed-in: Lauren Strifling gave up just two earned (and two unearned) runs on four hits and racked up ten Ks.
At the plate, Homestead let Anna Faucett and Lizzy Willis run wild. Faucett got on base in three of her five plate appearances with two stolen bases and two RBI, while Willis went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI Willis has posted since back in April.
Coming up, Grafton will take on Cedarburg at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The Bulldogs' pitching crew has only allowed 3.7 runs per game this season, so the Black Hawks' hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Homestead, they are taking a road trip to challenge Nicolet at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Highlanders are facing the Knights at the right time seeing as the Knights are stuck on a 15-game losing streak.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
