The Heritage Patriots will head out on the road to take on the DeKalb Barons at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Heritage is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.9 runs per game this season.
Heritage is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Jay County just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Monday. They fell just short of the Patriots by a score of 3-2.
Danica Fuller was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off seven hits. Fuller has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances. Fuller was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base, and a run.
In other batting news, Abriyah James made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Even though they lost, Heritage didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with eight strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Jay County only tossed four.
Meanwhile, DeKalb earned a 7-3 win over Prairie Heights on Tuesday.
Like Heritage, DeKalb also got a great game from a two-way player: Summer Haverstock. On the mound, she tossed seven innings while giving up three earned runs off seven hits. Haverstock was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Paige Storck was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-4. Rylee Moore was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Heritage's record is now 8-8. As for DeKalb, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 9-14.
DeKalb's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Heritage hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .321. It's a different story for DeKalb, though, as they've only averaged .244. Will they be able to contain Heritage's hitters?
Everything went Heritage's way against DeKalb in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 as Heritage made off with a 23-11 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Heritage since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
