The Mercer Mustangs will head out on the road to challenge the Franklin Knights at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Mercer can now show off nine landslide victories after their most recent contest on Tuesday. They beat Lakeview by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 17-4. The win made it back-to-back victories for Mercer.
Angelina Eakman was a major factor no matter where she played. She struck out 12 batters over four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off one hit. Eakman has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts every time she's pitched this season. Eakman was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in two of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Mercer got a massive performance out of Kailyn Adams, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 4-for-5. Adams has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played. Emma Stoepfel was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Franklin's hitters rose to the challenge against a Muskies pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.83 runs allowed on Tuesday. Franklin walked away with a 10-7 victory over Jamestown.
Like Mercer, Franklin also got a great game from a two-way player: Jersey Swartz. On the mound, she struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up five earned (and two unearned) runs off ten hits. Swartz was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Franklin got a massive performance out of Abigal Boland, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and a stolen base. Another player making a difference was Kirsten Hicks, who scored four runs while going 2-for-5.
Mercer has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. As for Franklin, their record now sits at 9-7.
Franklin's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Mercer has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10 hits per game. It's a different story for Franklin, though, as they've been averaging 10.5. Given Mercer's sizable advantage in that area, Franklin will need to find a way to close that gap.
Mercer skirted past Franklin 19-18 in their previous matchup back in May of 2016. Does Mercer have another victory up their sleeve, or will Franklin turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
