The Bangor Vikings will head out on the road to face off against the Marcellus Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Marcellus will be up against a hot Bangor team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. The Vikings blew past Comstock 21-1 on Monday. The contest marked the Vikings' most dominant victory of the season so far.
Isabelle Horvath was a major factor no matter where she played. She struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than one earned run any time she's pitched this season. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring four runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. What's more, she posted two doubles, the most she's had since back in March of 2024.
In other batting news, Bangor let Lily Sugden and Kylie Withey run wild. Sugden scored two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances, while Withey scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. That's the most runs Withey has posted since back in May of 2024. Ariana Pearce also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Bangor was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .412. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .303 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Marcellus). They were the clear victors by a 21-14 margin over White Pigeon on Monday. The win continues a trend for the Wildcats in their matchups with the Chiefs: they've now won eight in a row.
Kerrianne O'Donnell and Hannah Sharp did most of the damage at the plate: O'Donnell scored five runs and stole a base while going 3-for-6, while Sharp went 2-for-4 with five RBI, one run, and one double. With that strong performance, O'Donnell is now averaging an impressive 2.5 runs per game. Carlyn Deer was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Bangor pushed their record up to 5-1 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Marcellus, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Marcellus' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Bangor has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.8 hits per game. It's a different story for Marcellus, though, as they've been averaging 10.8 hits. Given Bangor's sizable advantage in that area, the Wildcats will need to find a way to close that gap.
Bangor was able to grind out a solid win over Marcellus in their previous meeting on Saturday, winning 8-3. Will the Vikings repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
