Hackberry is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Starks is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Hackberry Mustangs will take on the Starks Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
After only two runs in their last match, Hackberry made sure to put some runs up on the board against South Cameron on Tuesday. Hackberry was the clear victor by a 21-4 margin over South Cameron.
Meanwhile, Starks scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They never let Johnson Bayou onto the board and left with a 34-0 victory. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Madelyn Nolen was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out nine batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Nolen has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive pitching appearances. Nolen was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring five runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Hazel Heffron, who scored five runs and stole three bases while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Tayla Holloway, who scored five runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Hackberry has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a massive bump to their 9-8 record this season. As for Starks, their victory bumped their record up to 11-4.
Hackberry suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Starks in their previous meeting on March 11th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Nolen, who kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over five innings pitched. Now that Hackberry knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
