Berkley hasn't had much luck against Athens recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Bears are taking a road trip to take on the Red Hawks at 4:30 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Having struggled with three defeats in a row, Berkley turned things around against Lutheran on Saturday. They put the hurt on the Warriors with a sharp 19-4 win. The Bears not only won on Saturday, but they posted their biggest win since April 23rd (when they won 17-1).
Brooke Schall and Alyse Muscat did most of the damage at the plate: Schall went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and one triple, while Muscat went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most RBI Muscat has posted over her last 16 matches. Meryl O'Donnell was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple.
Berkley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .655. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Athens). Everything went their way against Troy on Friday as they made off with a 12-2 victory.
Angie Leonard was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She pitched five innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Leonard was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with three runs, one triple, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cara Dahlerup, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Addison Cosgrove, who went 2-for-4 with one home run and two runs.
Athens is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 7-9 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.8 runs over those games. As for Berkley, their record is now 9-16-1.
Berkley skirted past Athens 9-8 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.