The Marysville Monarchs will face off against the Pickerington Central Tigers at 5:15 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Pickerington Central will be up against a hot Marysville squad: the team just extended their winning streak to six. The Monarchs' pitcher stepped up to hand Dublin Jerome a 16-0 shutout on Thursday. 16 seems to be a good number for the Monarchs as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Brooklyn Gamby was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4 with three doubles, four RBI, and one run.
In other batting news, Lexi Hakola and Jaidan Hutchins did most of the damage at the plate: Hakola went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs and one RBI, while Hutchins went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Ella Wood, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Marysville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .533. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Pickerington Central made easy work of Logan on Thursday and carried off an 8-2 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Tigers.
Olivia Achtermann looked comfortable as she didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Pickerington Central got a big performance out of Sophia Kounouzvelis, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Tisha Thompson, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs.
Pickerington Central pushed their record up to 8-4 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for Marysville, their win bumped their record up to 8-3-1.
Friday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Marysville has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .508. However, it's not like Pickerington Central struggles in that department as they've averaged .455. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Marysville took their victory against Pickerington Central in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 6-0 score. Do the Monarchs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Tigers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
