Melba hasn't had much luck against New Plymouth recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Mustangs will head out to take on the Pilgrims at 5:00 p.m. Melba has given up an average of 12 runs per game this season, but Wednesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Melba is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 18 runs on Saturday, they were much more limited against Nampa Christian on Monday. They came up short against the Trojans, falling 16-1.
Melba saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kali Adams, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one triple and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask New Plymouth). They were the clear victors by a 26-2 margin over Vision on Monday. Considering the Pilgrims have won seven matchups by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
LeeAnn Hartzell made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two triples, three runs, and three RBI. Those three RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Victoria Gluch, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March. Makayla Howard was another key player, scoring four runs while going 3-for-3.
New Plymouth always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .634. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
The victory (which was New Plymouth's third in a row) raised their record to 12-4. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Melba, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-8.
Melba couldn't quite get it done against New Plymouth when the teams last played two weeks ago as they fell 11-7. Can the Mustangs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
