The Jersey Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Waterloo Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Tuesday, Jersey made easy work of Granite City and carried off a 12-1 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Jersey.
Ashlyn Brown made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Brown has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 17 consecutive pitching appearances. Brown was also big at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a home run and five RBI.
In other batting news, Maleah Derrick was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Caroline Ward, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Waterloo owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Highland as Waterloo made off with an 8-0 victory.
Like Jersey, Waterloo also got a great game from a two-way player: Mia Miller. She didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. Miller was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and a double.
In other batting news, Sam Juelfs was excellent, scoring a run while going 3-for-4. Maddie Gummersheimer was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.
Jersey's record now sits at 6-13. As for Waterloo, their win was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 20-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Jersey has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Waterloo struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Jersey came up short against Waterloo in their previous matchup back in April, falling 6-2. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Miller, who struck out 13 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits (and not a single walk). Now that Jersey knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
