Northern is 6-0 against La Plata since April of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. The Northern Patriots will head out on the road to face off against the La Plata Warriors at 4:30 p.m. Northern is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10.2 runs per game this season.
Northern is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Maryland's top teams: St. Mary's Ryken, who was ranked third in their home state at the time (Northern was ranked 19th). Northern fell just short of St. Mary's Ryken by a score of 6-4 on Monday. It was the first time this season that Northern let down their fans at home.
Northern saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Reagan Powell, who went 1-for-4 with a triple, two RBI, and a run.
Meanwhile, La Plata can now show off nine landslide victories after their most recent match on Friday. Everything went their way against Thomas Stone as La Plata made off with a 17-0 victory. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for La Plata considering their two-run performance the game before.
Leah Buck made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Buck has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive pitching appearances. Buck was even better at the plate, going 1-for-1 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base.
In other batting news, Annabelle Hall and Sophie Payne did most of the damage at the plate: Hall scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-3, while Payne scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2. Reese Menejia was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2.
Northern's loss ended an 11-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 14-4. As for La Plata, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 10-5.
Wednesday's matchup will be a test for both team's pitchers. Northern hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .333. However, it's not like La Plata struggles in that department as they've averaged .375. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Northern beat La Plata 3-0 in their previous matchup back in May of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was La Plata's Jenna Goldey, who struck out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits (and not a single walk). Now that she won't be playing on Wednesday, will it be that much easier for Northern to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
