The East Central Trojans will take on the Greenfield-Central Cougars at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. East Central is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.9 runs per game this season.
East Central came into this matchup off a tough ten-run defeat on Thursday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Jennings County by a score of 5-3 on Friday. The Trojans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
East Central got a good showing from Kelsey Koth, who didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. That's the fewest hits Koth has allowed over her last three matchups.
On the hitting side, Taylor Sommer made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Kasey Knapp, who went 1-for-3 with one home run.
Meanwhile, Greenfield-Central had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Friday. They came out on top against the Wildcats by a score of 8-3.
Addie Heacox spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on three hits.
At the plate, Savvanna Riall and Charlotte Riehle did most of the damage at the plate: Riall got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run and two RBI, while Riehle went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Riall is on a roll when it comes to home runs, as she's now launched at least one in each of the last five games she's played. Kristen Wineinger was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
East Central's loss dropped their record down to 16-8. As for Greenfield-Central, their win bumped their record up to 14-7.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. East Central 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 Greenfield-Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
East Central came out on top in a nail-biter against Greenfield-Central when the teams last played back in May of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. Will the Trojans repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
