The Chalker Wildcats will challenge the Lowellville Rockets at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Chalker will bounce into Monday's match after beating Grand Valley, who they had gone 0-3 against in their three prior meetings. The Wildcats were the clear victors by a 14-2 margin over the Mustangs on Friday. Considering the Wildcats have won eight contests by more than nine runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Tatum Hudak
| 05/16/25 @ Grand Valley | 4 |
| 04/17/25 vs Pymatuning Valley | 3 |
| 04/12/25 vs Jefferson Area | 3 |
| 05/12/25 vs Maplewood | 2 |
| 05/07/25 vs Bristol | 2 |
Tatum Hudak and Gabby Hromada made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Hudak pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Hromada tossed three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. At the plate, Hudak went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI, while Hromada went 3-for-4 with three runs and two doubles. Those four hits gave Hudak a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kelsey Kren, who went 2-for-5 with one home run and three runs. Riley Ashcraft was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
Chalker always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .553. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Grand Valley only posted an OBP of .333.
Meanwhile, Lowellville came into Wednesday's game having lost five straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Central Christian a 10-0 shutout on Wednesday. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Rockets' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Alyssa Kuzan and Giuliana Alfano did most of the damage at the plate: Kuzan went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles, while Alfano went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Poala Andino, who got on base in two of her three plate appearances with four stolen bases and one run.
Chalker has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Lowellville, their win bumped their record up to 3-7.
Lowellville's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Chalker has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.6 hits per game. It's a different story for Lowellville, though, as they've been averaging 10.3 hits. Given Chalker's sizable advantage in that area, the Rockets will need to find a way to close that gap.
Chalker took their victory against Lowellville when the teams last played back in May of 2022 by a conclusive 9-3 score. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Rockets have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
