The Orion Chargers will head out to challenge the Kewanee Boilermakers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Orion will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.
Orion's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Monmouth-Roseville as they made off with a 15-0 win. Considering the Chargers have won five matchups by more than 11 runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Lainey Kunert made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over five innings pitched. What's more, she posted four strikeouts, the most she's had since back in March. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. She has been hot recently, having posted three or more hits the last three times she's played.
Claire Haars
| 04/17/25 @ Monmouth-Roseville | 3 |
| 04/12/25 @ Bushnell-Prairie City-Avon | 2 |
| 04/05/25 @ Rochester | 2 |
| 04/03/25 vs Bureau Valley | 2 |
| 03/18/25 @ Galesburg | 2 |
In other batting news, Orion let Kadence Hammer and Claire Haars run wild. Hammer went 2-for-4 with four RBI, one run, and one double, while Haars went 3-for-4 with four runs and one RBI. Those three hits gave Haars a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Khloe Nelson, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Farmington hit Kewanee with a seven-run fifth inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Boilermakers fell just short of the Farmers by a score of 11-10. Surprisingly, this marked the Boilermakers' fifth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Remy Hicks put in work no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Hicks was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one run.
In other batting news, Rylee Blades and Kalleigh Gale stepped up to the plate in a big way. Blades got on base in four of her five plate appearances with one home run, four RBI, and two runs, while Gale went 4-for-5 with four runs, two doubles, and one triple. Gale continues to improve, besting her previous run total in each of the last three games she's played. Audrey Clucas also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
Orion's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-8. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.6 runs on average over those games. As for Kewanee, their loss dropped their record down to 8-6.
Orion might still be hurting after the 11-5 defeat they got from Kewanee in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Can the Chargers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
