The New Plymouth Pilgrims are taking a road trip to square off against the Parma Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with New Plymouth sitting on six straight wins and Parma on nine.
The home team had won the previous six meetings between New Plymouth and McCall-Donnelly, and New Plymouth kept the tradition alive. The Pilgrims put the hurt on the Vandals with a sharp 14-2 victory on Saturday. The result was nothing new for the Pilgrims, who have now won nine contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Makiah Weideman was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. Weideman was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games she's played.
Makayla Howard
| 04/19/25 vs McCall-Donnelly | 3 |
| 04/19/25 vs McCall-Donnelly | 2 |
| 04/14/25 vs Vision | 2 |
| 03/26/25 vs Garden Valley | 2 |
| 04/16/25 vs Melba | 1 |
In other batting news, Makayla Howard was a standout: she got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three RBI and one run. Those three RBI gave her a new career-high. Elsea Shaw was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
New Plymouth always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .575. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as McCall-Donnelly only posted an OBP of .158.
Meanwhile, Parma hadn't done well against Homedale recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Panthers walked away with a 5-1 win over the Trojans. That's two games straight that the Panthers have won by exactly four runs.
Parma saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Wesli Crockett, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and one double. Another was Maya Jensen, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
New Plymouth's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-4. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 16.3 runs over those games. As for Parma, their record is now 16-2.
Monday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. New Plymouth has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .456. However, it's not like Parma struggles in that department as they've averaged .475. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
New Plymouth suffered a grim 16-0 defeat to Parma when the teams last played two weeks ago. Can the Pilgrims avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
