The Saline Hornets will take on the Lakeland Eagles in a tournament on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Saline barely beat Lincoln the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Hornets' pitcher stepped up to hand the Railsplitters a 9-0 shutout on Monday. The win was nothing new for the Hornets as they're now sitting on five straight.
Not much got past Abby Curtis, who gave up just a hit and racked up 14 Ks to keep Lincoln off the board. Curtis has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Sydney Hastings was incredible, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Casey Griffin, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Lakeland, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 12-5 margin over Novi on Friday. The high-scoring effort was just what the Eagles needed considering they were shut out in their previous game.
The team relied heavily on Izzy Bedini, who went 3-for-5 with two triples, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Alyssa Goldman, who went 2-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Lakeland hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in ten consecutive matchups.
Saline pushed their record up to 14-2-1 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The team dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 7.8 runs. As for Lakeland, their record now sits at 14-5.
Lakeland's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Saline has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.6 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Lakeland, though, as they've been averaging only 2.9 strikeouts. Will Saline keep running through batters, or will the Eagles buck the trend? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
