The Stroudsburg Mountaineers will venture away from home to challenge the Bethlehem Catholic Hawks at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Stroudsburg has three straight victories, Bethlehem Catholic has seven straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Stroudsburg's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 14-0 margin over Pocono Mountain West. Considering the Mountaineers have won six contests by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Jordan Cook made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Cook was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that she hit this season.
In other batting news, Dorothy Elko was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two triples, three RBI, and two runs. She also put up a double, which was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Morgan Callender, who went 2-for-3 with two triples, three RBI, and two runs.
Stroudsburg kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Bethlehem Catholic came up short against Emmaus on Tuesday, falling 16-5.
Sarah Banko was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Stroudsburg's record now sits at 8-2. As for Bethlehem Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-8.
Bethlehem Catholic's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Stroudsburg has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .437. It's a different story for Bethlehem Catholic, though, as they've only averaged .345. Will they be able to contain Stroudsburg's hitters? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
