The Wheeler Eagles will take on the Pine Grove Panthers at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Wheeler will be strutting in after a victory while Pine Grove will be coming in after a defeat.
Wheeler is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Falkner with a sharp 20-3 win on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for Wheeler, who have now won seven matchups by ten runs or more so far this season.
Marli Kate Shockley made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits (and only one walk). Shockley was also big at the plate, going 1-for-5 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Savannah Hancock was a standout: she went 2-for-5 with seven RBI, one stolen base, and one double. That's the most hits she has posted over her last nine contests. Another player making a difference was Emma Kate Beckham, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with four runs and one triple.
Wheeler hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Falkner struck out seven times.
Kossuth hit Pine Grove with a four-run fourth inning on Monday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Panthers lost 13-5 to the Aggies. The Panthers haven't had much luck with the Aggies recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.
Anaston Christian was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one double. Kaylee Crawley was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Wheeler has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 12 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-8 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Pine Grove, their loss dropped their record down to 9-13.
Wheeler beat Pine Grove 6-3 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Will the Eagles repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
