Western is 1-6 against Harrison since May of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Western Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Harrison Raiders at 5:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Western took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Oak Hill a 12-0 shutout. Western's victory was all the more impressive since Oak Hill was averaging only 3.88 runs allowed on the season.
Kylie Miller was a major factor no matter where she played. She tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Miller was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
In other pitching news, Lucy George looked comfortable as she pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Chloe Linn, who fired off two home runs and six RBI while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Brynley Erb, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Harrison came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.7 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Wildkats with a sharp 14-0 win. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest victory Harrison has managed all season.
Like Western, Harrison also got a great game from a two-way player: Rylan Gick. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Gick was also big at the plate, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with a double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Becca Knight, who went 3-for-3 with six RBI, two triples, and two runs. Whitney Duell was another key contributor, going 3-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and an RBI.
Western pushed their record up to 21-2 with that win, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Harrison, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 18-3 record this season.
Western skirted past Harrison 7-6 in their previous matchup back in May of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Western since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
