The Zeeland East Chix will square off against the Reeths-Puffer Rockets at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Reeths-Puffer took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Zeeland East, who comes in off a win.
Zeeland East's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They came out on top against Hamilton by a score of 3-0. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Chix.
The result came thanks to Mason Raade's shutout, as he gave up just six hits and racked up six Ks. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Max Mulder was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Quincy Thome, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Meanwhile, Reeths-Puffer was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their seventh straight loss. They came up short against Jenison, falling 10-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Rockets have suffered against the Wildcats since April 10, 2018.
Zeeland East pushed their record up to 20-7 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Reeths-Puffer, their loss dropped their record down to 4-8.
Reeths-Puffer's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Zeeland East hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .343. It's a different story for Reeths-Puffer, though, as they've only averaged .236. Will they be able to contain Zeeland East's hitters?
Zeeland East took their win against Reeths-Puffer when the teams last played back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 8-2 score. Do the Chix have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rockets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
