The Nazareth Area Blue Eagles will face off against the Hempfield Area Spartans on Monday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Nazareth Area is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Cumberland Valley, sneaking past 5-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Blue Eagles.
Kylie Grover spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on eight hits.
On the hitting side, Alina Weaver was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Shauna McNamee, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, Hempfield Area had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 4-3 W against the Trojans. That's two games straight that the Spartans have won by just one run.
Riley Miller made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 15 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, Lauren Howard and Allie Cervola did most of the damage at the plate: Howard went 2-for-3 with two runs and two doubles, while Cervola went 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most doubles Howard has posted since back in April.
Nazareth Area pushed their record up to 18-4 with the victory, which was their seventh straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Hempfield Area, their record is now 25-1.
Nazareth Area couldn't quite finish off Hempfield Area in their previous meeting back in June of 2018 and fell 2-0. Can the Blue Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
