After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Middle Township, Holy Spirit was happy to have turned things around on Saturday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Oakcrest Falcons a 7-0 shutout. Holy Spirit might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won four contests by six runs or more this season.
Mia Merlino made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over 6.1 innings pitched. Merlino has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Merlino was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in two of her four plate appearances.
Merlino wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Mary Kate Armstrong, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Josie Long, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a double.
The win got Holy Spirit back to even at 6-6. As for Oakcrest, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-2-1.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Holy Spirit will take on Ocean City at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ocean City is coming into the match with four straight victories on the road, so Holy Spirit will have to stop a team with plenty of momentum. As for Oakcrest, they will be playing at home against Pleasantville at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Oakcrest is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
