The Lake Howell Silverhawks will head out on the road to square off against the West Orange Warriors at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lake Howell has ten straight victories, West Orange has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Tuesday, Lake Howell had just enough and edged out Hagerty 5-3.
Rhianna Hudson was a major factor no matter where she played. She struck out six batters over 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Hudson wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Skaii Rodriguez, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, West Orange lost 17-6 to Sutherland on Wednesday.
Cali Flowers made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs while going 3-for-4. Another was Ryan Caulkins, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Lake Howell pushed their record up to 16-4 with the win, which was their eighth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for West Orange, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-14.
West Orange's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Lake Howell has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for West Orange, though, as they've been averaging only 1.8 strikeouts. Will Lake Howell keep running through batters, or will the Warriors buck the trend?
Lake Howell beat West Orange 7-4 in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Do the Silverhawks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Warriors turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
