The Penobscot Valley Howlers will take on the Jonesport-Beals Royals on Thursday. Penobscot Valley will come into the matchup with an undefeated record on the line.
Last Wednesday, Penobscot Valley made easy work of Woodland and carried off a 17-3 victory. Considering the Howlers have won 13 contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Lauren Veino
| 06/04/25 @ Woodland | 3 |
| 06/02/25 @ Piscataquis | 1 |
| 05/26/25 vs Deer Isle-Stonington | 1 |
| 05/21/25 vs Woodland | 1 |
| 06/15/24 @ North Yarmouth Academy | 1 |
Lauren Veino made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out ten over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three doubles, four RBI, and two runs. Those three doubles gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Penobscot Valley got a massive performance out of Allie LeBlanc, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three stolen bases, four runs, and one RBI. That's the most runs LeBlanc has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Lila Cummings, who went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI.
Penobscot Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .538. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in eight consecutive games.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Jonesport-Beals rose to the challenge on Tuesday. They walked away with a 6-3 win over the Wolverines.
Like Penobscot Valley, Jonesport-Beals also got a great game from a two-way player: Aspen Alley. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Alley was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with four RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Jonesport-Beals let Melody Gray and Makayla Merchant run wild. Gray got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs, while Merchant went 1-for-2 with two runs and one stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of Riley Balicki, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one run.
Jonesport-Beals has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Penobscot Valley, their win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-0.
Jonesport-Beals' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Penobscot Valley hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .443. It's a different story for Jonesport-Beals, though, as they've only averaged .249. Will they be able to contain Penobscot Valley's hitters?
Penobscot Valley took their victory against Jonesport-Beals when the teams last played back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 13-0 score. Will the Howlers repeat their success, or do the Royals have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
