The York Falcons will challenge the Western Branch Bruins at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. York is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.9 runs per game this season.
York's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. Everything went their way against Lafayette as they made off with a 19-0 victory. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Falcons considering their one-run performance the game before.
Bri Petrolia
| 05/09/25 @ Lafayette | 4 |
| 04/25/25 vs Jamestown | 3 |
| 03/31/25 vs Bruton | 3 |
| 03/19/25 @ Jamestown | 3 |
| 04/23/25 @ Smithfield | 2 |
Bri Petrolia made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than one walk in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. Those four hits gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, York got a massive performance out of Sarah Witt, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with four runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. Those four runs gave Witt a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Leah Hunter, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and one double.
York was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .692. They are 7-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Western Branch faced Hickory in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Bruins walked away with a 9-6 win over the Hawks. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Haylee Bandura spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five earned (and one unearned) runs on ten hits.
On the hitting side, Ashley Matthews and Lilly Creef did most of the damage at the plate: Matthews went 3-for-4 with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base, while Creef went 2-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. That home run marked the first that Creef has launched this season. Maddie Lemasters was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Western Branch has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for York, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 8-7.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. York hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Western Branch struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
York came out on top in a nail-biter against Western Branch in their previous matchup back in March of 2020, sneaking past 10-9. Will the Falcons repeat their success, or do the Bruins have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
