Villa Rica and East Paulding are an even 5-5 against one another since September of 2017, but likely not for long. The Villa Rica Wildcats will square off against the East Paulding Raiders at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Villa Rica is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7 runs per game this season.
Villa Rica took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They blew past New Manchester 18-3. The win was some much needed relief for the Wildcats as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Kylah Hutchinson was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Villa Rica let Bristol Rodgers and Aila Kent loose on the outfield. Rodgers scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-1, while Kent scored two runs while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Lyric Oliver-Poole, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-1.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Villa Rica always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .733. The last time their OBP was this high was back in October of 2023.
Meanwhile, East Paulding had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 runs), and they went ahead and made it seven on Wednesday. They never let the Mustangs onto the board and left with an 8-0 victory. The Raiders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 matches by six runs or more this season.
The result came thanks to JJ Sweat's shutout, as she gave up just two hits and racked up seven Ks.
At the plate, East Paulding let Ansleigh Broome and Emma Hernandez loose on the outfield. Broome scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Hernandez went 2-for-3 with a home run, two stolen bases, and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Brie Cazares, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
The win got Villa Rica back to even at 8-8. As for East Paulding, they are on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 17-3 record this season.
Villa Rica skirted past East Paulding 3-2 in their previous meeting back in August. The rematch might be a little tougher for Villa Rica since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
