The New Holstein Huskies will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Valders Vikings at 5:00 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
New Holstein is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They never let Kiel onto the board and left with an 8-0 victory. The result was nothing new for New Holstein, who have now won 12 contests by eight runs or more so far this season.
Natalie Ziebell made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. Ziebell has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. Ziebell was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jenna Horn, who scored a run while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was Jacey Sesing, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Valders, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Tuesday. They won by a run and slipped past Southern Door 6-5.
Megan Hochkammer spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and two unearned) runs on four hits and racked up 12 Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Claire Zipperer, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Makayla Dallas, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and a triple.
New Holstein's win bumped their record up to 17-9. As for Valders, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. New Holstein has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Valders struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
New Holstein couldn't quite finish off Valders when the teams last played on May 6th and fell 6-4. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hochkammer, who pitched seven innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. Now that New Holstein knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
