The Center Grove Trojans are on the road again on Saturday to play the Castle Knights at 10:30 a.m. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Center Grove is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against East Central and snuck past 3-1.
Center Grove got a great performance from Riley Henson as she didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out six over five innings pitched. Henson has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Riley Janda, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Mae Munson was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Castle waltzed into their game on Tuesday with 11 straight wins... but they left with 12. They came out on top against the Highlanders by a score of 8-5.
Sadie Winsett made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Winsett was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Castle got a massive performance out of Maddie Rose, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Mati Hughes, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Center Grove pushed their record up to 24-6 with that win, which was their 12th straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Castle, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 16 of their last 17 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 28-5 record this season.
Saturday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Center Grove has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .445. However, it's not like Castle struggles in that department as they've averaged .479. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Center Grove skirted past Castle 1-0 when the teams last played back in June of 2018. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Castle's Sydney Wilson, who pitched 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Now that she won't be playing on Saturday, will it be that much easier for Center Grove to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
