Heritage has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Prairie Falcons at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The last three games Heritage has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
On Friday, it was close, but Heritage sidestepped Evergreen for a 7-5 victory. That's two games straight that Heritage has won by exactly two runs.
Jaila Ellis spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and one unearned) runs on nine hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than seven innings in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Taylor Frost, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with a home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Makiah Iven, who scored a run while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Prairie came tearing into Wednesday's contest with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.7 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Thunder with a sharp 26-0 win. Prairie's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Payton Miller made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over four innings pitched. Miller was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, Prairie got a massive performance out of Payton Blunt, who got on base in all six of her plate appearances with a home run, five RBI, and three runs. Mackenzie Moore was another key contributor, going 3-for-3 with a home run, six RBI, and two runs.
Heritage's victory bumped their record up to 7-9. As for Prairie, their win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-7.
Monday's game will be a test for both team's pitchers. Heritage hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .330. However, it's not like Prairie struggles in that department as they've averaged .331. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Heritage couldn't quite finish off Prairie in their previous meeting last Tuesday and fell 3-1. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Prairie's Rylee Wall, who struck out 13 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). Now that Heritage knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
