The Mars Fightin' Planets are taking a road trip to face off against the New Castle Hurricanes at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Mars has given up an average of 11.1 runs per game this season, but Wednesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Mars lost 15-3 to North Hills on Monday. The Fightin' Planets have struggled against the Indians recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive lost meeting.
Sophia Soltis made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. That home run was her first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Allie Walukiewicz, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for New Castle, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. Everything went their way against Moniteau on Monday as they made off with a 14-3 win. The result was nothing new for the Hurricanes, who have now won four contests by 11 runs or more so far this season.
New Castle also got a great performance from Lexi Moyer as she tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off two hits. Moyer has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Keara Mangieri, who fired off three home runs, six RBI, and four runs while going 4-for-4. She has been hot, having posted at least one home run the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Aliyah Stalczynski, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one triple.
New Castle hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They are 2-1 when they post two or more strikeouts.
New Castle's record is now 6-7. As for Mars, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-12.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Mars hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like New Castle struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.8 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Mars suffered a grim 19-4 defeat to New Castle in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Can the Fightin' Planets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
