The Pottsville Apaches will head out to take on the Mena Bearcats at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Pottsville made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Lamar, but they still couldn't quite topple them. Everything went Pottsville's way against Lamar on Thursday as Pottsville made off with a 12-2 win. With that victory, the Apaches brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Savanna Mackey and Jessica Atkins made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Mackey pitched four innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Atkins pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance gave her a new career-low in hits. At the plate, Mackey scored three runs while going 3-for-4, while Atkins scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. That's the most hits Mackey has posted since back in March of 2024.
In other batting news, Madison Motley and Madison Kellar did most of the damage at the plate: Motley went 2-for-3 with one home run and four RBI, while Kellar went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That home run marked the first that Motley launched this season. Addy Wilmoth was another key player, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Pottsville lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Mena challenged Clarksville on Tuesday. Mena never let Clarksville get on the board and left with a 10-0 win. The Bearcats haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Abi Koppein was a major factor no matter where she played. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 13 over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with three RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jayden Cox, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Addison Thomas, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
The win (which was Pottsville's fifth in a row) raised their record to 6-3. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 9.6 hits in those games compared to only 5.25 in the others. As for Mena, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-2.
Pottsville came out on top in a nail-biter against Mena when the teams last played back in March of 2024, sneaking past 6-4. Does Pottsville have another victory up their sleeve, or will Mena turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
