The St. Paul Catholic Falcons will take on the Woodland Regional Hawks at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as St. Paul Catholic comes in on nine and Woodland Regional on 31.
St. Paul Catholic is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Connecticut's top teams: Seymour, who was ranked 22nd at the time (St. Paul Catholic was ranked 21st). The Falcons walked away with a 6-1 win over the Wildcats on Wednesday.
Lauren Kozlak spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on five hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 13 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Laila McCulloch, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Isabella McCulloch, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: St. Paul Catholic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in seven consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, it was a Battle of the Birds when Woodland Regional took on Wolcott on Wednesday. The Hawks' pitcher stepped up to hand the Eagles a 10-0 shutout. Considering the Hawks have won 20 games by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Ella VanAlstyne made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 17 over seven innings pitched. VanAlstyne was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double.
In other batting news, Paige Chiaramonte was excellent, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and one triple. Kate Lisowski was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Woodland Regional pushed their record up to 22-0 with the victory, which was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season. The team's perfect season has a lot to do with their hitting performance: the team's won by an average of 10.2 runs thus far. As for St. Paul Catholic, their record is now 20-2.
Friday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. St. Paul Catholic has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .513. However, it's not like Woodland Regional struggles in that department as they've averaged .534. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
St. Paul Catholic suffered a grim 11-0 defeat to Woodland Regional when the teams last played on May 12th. Can the Falcons avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
