The Montpelier Locomotives will head out on the road to challenge the Ayersville Pilots at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Ayersville is hoping to do on Monday what Hicksville couldn't on Friday: put an end to Montpelier's winning streak, which now stands at four games. Montpelier's pitcher stepped up to hand Hicksville a 13-0 shutout.
Madelyn Hopper made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Hopper has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in 12 consecutive pitching appearances. Hopper was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kelsie Bumb, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs, and three RBI. Lyla Mahan was another key contributor, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.
Meanwhile, Ayersville entered their tilt with Antwerp with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They put the hurt on the Archers with a sharp 10-1 victory on Friday.
Like Montpelier, Ayersville also got a great game from a two-way player: Kendra Waldron. She didn't allow a single hit, only one earned run while striking out 15 over seven innings pitched. Waldron was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Ayersville got a big performance out of Aeriel Brown, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and an RBI. Another player making a difference was Taylor Waldron, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Montpelier has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-7 record this season. As for Ayersville, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Montpelier has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Ayersville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Montpelier came up short against Ayersville in their previous meeting back in April of 2022, falling 4-1. Can Montpelier avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
