The Franklin Sabers will challenge the Indian Trail Hawks at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Franklin's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They put the hurt on Oregon with a sharp 8-0 victory.
Not much got past Sam Marchese, who gave up just eight hits to keep Oregon off the board. Marchese has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Ella Anderson, who got on base in two of her four plate appearances with five stolen bases and two runs. That's the most runs she has posted over her last eight games. Lily Paul was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last matchup, Indian Trail made sure to put some runs up on the board against Waterford on Monday. The Hawks blew past the Wolverines 14-4.
Mags Aguinaga and Averi Bucher did most of the damage at the plate: Aguinaga went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one double, while Bucher went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Another player making a difference was Kennedy Brothen, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with three runs.
Indian Trail was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .448. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Waterford only posted a batting average of .300.
Indian Trail has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 13-8-1 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.8 runs over those games. As for Franklin, their victory bumped their record up to 15-5.
Tuesday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Franklin hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .357. However, it's not like Indian Trail struggles in that department as they've averaged .355. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Franklin skirted past Indian Trail 10-9 in their previous meeting back in April. Do the Sabers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Hawks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
