For the first time this season, South Hadley will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They are packing up and heading out on the road for their first away game of the season: they will square off against the Northampton Blue Devils at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday. South Hadley hasn't scored more than two runs for three games straight, a trend the team is eager to reverse.
South Hadley was handed a six-run loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Friday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Mount Greylock Regional a 2-0 shutout. The win continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Mounties: they've now won three in a row.
South Hadley got a great performance from Matt Butler as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over six innings pitched. Butler has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, South Hadley saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Griffin Soderbaum, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Northampton scored the most runs they've had this season on Monday, but it wasn't enough. They lost 15-7 to Holyoke. The Blue Devils haven't had much luck with the Knights recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Matthew Walko was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-4 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 1.2 stolen bases per game. Johnny Nields-Duffy also deserves some recognition as he scored his first runs of the season.
The victory got South Hadley back to even at 2-2. As for Northampton, they now have a losing record of 1-2-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. South Hadley has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Northampton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
South Hadley might still be hurting after the 7-1 defeat they got from Northampton when the teams last played back in May of 2017. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
