The East Aurora Blue Devils will look to take advantage of their home field for the first time this season as they take on the Mount Mercy Academy Magic at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
East Aurora is coming home looking for redemption after taking a loss in their road opener. They fell just short of Allegany-Limestone by a score of 9-8 on Thursday.
Sage Rozanski was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over 6.1 innings while giving up three earned (and six unearned) runs off six hits. Rozanski was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Tessa Fowler made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Emily Seifert was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one double.
Meanwhile, Mount Mercy Academy made easy work of Cheektowaga on Thursday and carried off a 13-5 win.
Like East Aurora, Mount Mercy Academy also got a great game from a two-way player: Taylor Jahn. She struck out 14 batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Those 14 strikeouts gave Jahn a new career-high. She was also stellar in the batter's box, firing off two home runs and three runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Riley Coughlin and Laila Golda did most of the damage at the plate: Coughlin went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI, while Golda scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. The dominant performance also gave Coughlin a new career-high in doubles (two). Another player making a difference was Natalie McOwen, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Mount Mercy Academy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cheektowaga only posted a batting average of .154.
Everything went East Aurora's way against Mount Mercy Academy in their previous matchup back in April of 2019, as East Aurora made off with a 33-0 victory. Does East Aurora have another victory up their sleeve, or will Mount Mercy Academy turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
