Hand is 1-9 against Guilford since April of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Tigers will look to defend their home field against the Grizzlies at 4:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Saturday, Hand earned a 5-1 victory over Wilton. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Tigers.
The team relied heavily on Bianca Pasquinelli, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Emily Dusza, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
Meanwhile, Guilford had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They came out on top against the Blue Devils by a score of 8-4.
Sarah O'Brien spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on five hits and racked up seven Ks.
At the plate, Ella Munson was excellent, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Kennadie Tansey, who went 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
Guilford's win bumped their record up to 7-5. As for Hand, the victory got them back to even at 6-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Hand hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Guilford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Hand came up short against Guilford in their previous meeting two weeks ago, falling 7-2. Will the Tigers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
