The Concord Minutemen will face off against the NorthWood Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Concord is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.4 runs per game this season.
Concord made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Wawasee, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Minutemen fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 9-7 on Monday. The Minutemen's defeat signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Allison Ralston spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered nine runs (all of which were unearned) on nine hits.
At the plate, Cheyenne Collins led a balanced group of hitters, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Rheagan Stafford, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI and one run.
Meanwhile, NorthWood had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. Everything went their way against the RedHawks as they made off with a 16-1 victory. Considering the Panthers have won five matches by more than nine runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Victoria Vega was incredible, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and four RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Chloe Davis, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.
NorthWood always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .636. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Concord's loss dropped their record down to 8-6. As for NorthWood, their win bumped their record up to an identical 8-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Concord hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like NorthWood struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Concord beat NorthWood 13-9 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Will the Minutemen repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
