The Marlington Dukes are taking a road trip to challenge the Elyria Catholic Panthers at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Marlington sitting on three straight wins and Elyria Catholic on 14.
On Thursday, Marlington made easy work of Carrollton and carried off a 12-2 victory. The result was nothing new for the Dukes, who have now won five contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Justine Doringo made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out 13 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. Doringo was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
In other batting news, Maddie Bailey and Chelsea Miller did most of the damage at the plate: Bailey went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and one double, while Miller went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That home run marked the first that Bailey has launched this season. Another player making a difference was Makenna Metz, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run.
Marlington was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .406. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Carrollton only posted a batting average of .095.
Meanwhile, Elyria Catholic's hitters rose to the challenge against a Mustangs pitching crew that boasted an average of only 2.53 runs allowed on Thursday. The Panthers put the hurt on Mathews with a sharp 12-1 win. Considering the Panthers have won eight games by more than eight runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Marlington, Elyria Catholic also got a great game from a two-way player: Harper Morgan. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off eight hits (and not a single walk). Morgan has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, firing off two home runs and four RBI while going 2-for-4. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in runs (two).
In other batting news, Jessica Conner was incredible, going 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, five RBI, and two runs. Those three stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Hannah Brooks was another key player, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Marlington pushed their record up to 8-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.8 runs over those games. As for Elyria Catholic, their record now sits at 14-0.
