Wellington hasn't had much luck against Keystone recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Dukes will take on the Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Wellington's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by an 11-0 margin over Clearview. The win continues a trend for the Dukes in their matchups with the Clippers: they've now won six in a row.
Mallory Pickering
| 04/22/25 vs Clearview | 4 |
| 04/09/25 vs Edison | 3 |
| 04/01/25 @ Western Reserve | 3 |
| 04/15/25 @ Firelands | 2 |
| 04/17/25 vs Black River | 1 |
Mallory Pickering made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, four runs, and two stolen bases. Those four hits gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Caedyn Wacker, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. Those two RBI gave her a new career-high. Danica Borzy also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.
Wellington always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .621. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Clearview only posted an OBP of .188.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Keystone faced off against Brookside on Wednesday. The Wildcats blew past the Cardinals 9-3. The victory was nothing new for the Wildcats as they're now sitting on six straight.
Keystone got a massive performance out of Bristol Foster, who went 1-for-4 with one home run and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Jordan Owca, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Keystone pushed their record up to 7-5 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Wellington, their record is now 5-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Wellington hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Keystone struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Wellington suffered a grim 23-0 defeat to Keystone in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Dukes avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
