The Adena Warriors will face off against the North Adams Green Devils at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Adena saw some tournament action on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Zane Trace with a sharp 20-1 win. The victory continues a trend for the Warriors in their matchups with the Pioneers: they've now won four in a row.
Addy Cottrill and Allie Bossert made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Cottrill pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Bossert tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Cottrill has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 21 consecutive appearances. At bat, Cottrill went 1-for-4 with two RBI and one run, while Bossert went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Marly Halcomb, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four runs, and three RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Jo Jett, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and one stolen base.
Adena was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .613. They are 14-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, while North Adams put up some runs on Wednesday, the same can't be said for Alexander. The Green Devils were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over the Spartans. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Green Devils considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Chloe Armstrong and Marnie Tolle did most of the damage at the plate: Armstrong got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs, two RBI, and one double, while Tolle got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base. Riley Woods was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
North Adams' win bumped their record up to 22-4. As for Adena, their victory bumped their record up to 19-8.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Adena hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1 home runs per game. However, it's not like North Adams struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Adena got the 'W' in their previous meeting back in May of 2017 against North Adams by a conclusive 15-3 score. Will the Warriors repeat their success, or do the Green Devils have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.