The McDowell Trojans will face off against the Harbor Creek Huskies at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with McDowell sitting on four straight wins and Harbor Creek on five.
Harbor Creek's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Saturday: McDowell hadn't allowed a single run the last three times they've hit the field. The Trojans' pitchers stepped up to hand General McLane a 12-0 shutout on Thursday. Surprisingly, this marked the Trojans' fifth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Emma Mickel and Gabriella Deluca made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Mickel tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Deluca struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than one walk in nine consecutive appearances. At the plate, Mickel went 3-for-5 with one double and one RBI, while Deluca went 2-for-5 with two RBI and one run.
Isabelle Nageli
| 04/24/25 @ General McLane | 3 |
| 04/23/25 @ Meadville | 2 |
| 04/03/25 vs Mason County | 1 |
| 04/02/25 vs Elliott County | 1 |
| 04/01/25 vs Pike County Central | 1 |
In other batting news, McDowell let Isabelle Nageli and Alexandra Smith run wild. Nageli went 3-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles, while Smith went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and one double. Those three hits gave Nageli a new career-high. Avya Mickel also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.
McDowell kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 18 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Harbor Creek got the win against Titusville on Thursday by a conclusive 10-0. The result was nothing new for the Huskies, who have now won six contests by ten runs or more so far this season.
The team relied heavily on Brooklynn Cipalla, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Arianna Denning was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI.
Harbor Creek pushed their record up to 8-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for McDowell, their record is now 10-1.
Saturday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. McDowell hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .378. However, it's not like Harbor Creek struggles in that department as they've averaged .393. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
McDowell beat Harbor Creek 5-2 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Trojans since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
