The Mount Vernon Bulldogs will face off against the Nooksack Valley Pioneers at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Mount Vernon's pitching crew has only allowed 3.5 runs per game this season, so Nooksack Valley's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Nooksack Valley will be up against a hot Mount Vernon squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. The Bulldogs came out on top against Cedar Park Christian by a score of 6-1 on Friday.
The home team had won the previous four meetings between Nooksack Valley and Anacortes, and Nooksack Valley kept the tradition alive. The Pioneers were the clear victors by a 17-1 margin over the Seahawks on Monday. Considering the Pioneers have won nine games by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Alayna Vanieperen and Payton Bartl were major factors no matter where they played. Throwing, Vanieperen pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Bartl tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. At bat, Vanieperen went 1-for-3 with three runs, while Bartl got on base in all three of her plate appearances with three runs. That's the most runs Bartl has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Alayna Dykstra was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, seven RBI, and three runs. Those seven RBI gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Shelby Mason, who went 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
Nooksack Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .609. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive matchups.
Mount Vernon's win was their eighth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-3. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Nooksack Valley, they moved to 13-6 with that win, which also ended their three-game losing streak.
Everything went Mount Vernon's way against Nooksack Valley when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Mount Vernon made off with an 11-0 victory. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Pioneers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
