The Bald Eagle Area Eagles will venture away from home to challenge the Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Bald Eagle Area took a loss when they played away from home last Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Philipsburg-Osceola as they made off with a 13-3 victory. The win continues a trend for the Eagles in their matchups with the Mountaineers: they've now won six in a row.
Sydney Thompson and Alexa Baney did most of the damage at the plate: Thompson scored two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances, while Baney scored a run while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Kailey Eckert, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5.
Bald Eagle Area was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .441. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Philipsburg-Osceola only posted a batting average of .292.
Meanwhile, Bellwood-Antis played in-conference for the first time on Friday and got just the result they were looking for. They were the clear victors by a 14-5 margin over Bedford. The Blue Devils not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since April 15, 2024.
Palynn Gregg made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed seven innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits. Those hits were her first of the season. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-5. Those three runs gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Bellwood-Antis let London McKee and Amyra Snyder run wild. McKee went 1-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI, while Snyder went 2-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Those three runs gave McKee a new career-high. Parker Martin also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Bald Eagle Area pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Bellwood-Antis, their victory ended a four-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 2-4.
Bellwood-Antis' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Bald Eagle Area has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .443. It's a different story for Bellwood-Antis, though, as they've only averaged .297. Will they be able to contain Bald Eagle Area's hitters?
Everything went Bald Eagle Area's way against Bellwood-Antis in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Bald Eagle Area made off with a 10-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Eagles since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
