The Alcester-Hudson Cubs will challenge the Avon Pirates at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The timing is sure in Alcester-Hudson's favor as the squad sits on eight straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Avon has been banged up by seven consecutive losses on the road also dating back to last season.
Alcester-Hudson is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of South Dakota's top teams: Beresford, who was ranked ninth at the time (Alcester-Hudson was ranked fourth). The Cubs walked away with an 8-5 victory over the Watchdogs on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Cubs in their matchups with the Watchdogs: they've now won four in a row.
Emma Moller made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Laney Decker
| 04/18/25 @ Beresford | 3 |
| 04/11/25 vs Oldham-Ramona/R | 2 |
| 03/29/25 vs Castlewood | 2 |
| 04/05/24 @ Oldham-Ramona/R | 2 |
| 04/04/24 vs Colman-Egan | 2 |
In other batting news, Laney Decker and Jaeley Christensen did most of the damage at the plate: Decker went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one run, while Christensen went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. Those three RBI gave Decker a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Delta Pies, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Alcester-Hudson was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .303 or higher in ten consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Avon). Everything went their way against Scotland/Menno on Monday as they made off with a 17-11 victory. The Pirates not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since May 14, 2024 (when they won 11-5).
Rilyn Thury was a standout: she went 2-for-5 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Ashley Tolsma, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Alcester-Hudson's win bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Avon, their victory bumped their record up to 4-2-1.
Alcester-Hudson took their win against Avon when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 16-1 score. Will the Cubs repeat their success, or do the Pirates have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
