The Mid Valley Spartans will take on the Pine Grove Cardinals on Monday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Mid Valley comes in on four and Pine Grove on ten.
Mid Valley is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. Everything went their way against Nazareth Academy as they made off with a 13-2 victory. The result was nothing new for the Spartans, who have now won 17 matchups by ten runs or more so far this season.
Ava Hazelton made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she tossed five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Hazelton was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Mid Valley got a massive performance out of Mackenzie Adolfson, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Jordan Carroll was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, two doubles, and two RBI.
Mid Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .429. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Nazareth Academy only posted a batting average of .250.
Meanwhile, it may have taken ten innings to finish the job, but Pine Grove ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Kutztown, sneaking past 10-8. Pine Grove's win was all the more impressive since the Cougars were averaging only 3.83 runs allowed on the season.
Like Mid Valley, Pine Grove also got a great game from a two-way player: Jamie Dinger. She struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Dinger was also solid in the batter's box, going 4-for-5 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Those four hits gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Madison Shiffer, who went 2-for-5 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Tailyn Bohr, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Pine Grove pushed their record up to 25-2 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. As for Mid Valley, their record is now 22-3-1.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Mid Valley has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.8 hits per game. However, it's not like Pine Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 3 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Mid Valley couldn't quite get it done against Pine Grove when the teams last played back in June of 2017 as they fell 10-6. Can the Spartans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
