The Morgan Township Cherokees will take on the Kouts Mustangs & Fillies at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
South Bend Riley hit Morgan Township with a five-run sixth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Cherokees fell 10-5 to the Wildcats. The Cherokees have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Kouts rose to the challenge on Monday. They never let the Blazers get on the board and left with a 15-0 victory. The Mustangs & Fillies haven't had any issues with the Blazers recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Katelyn Kleckner and Kayla Florence made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, Kleckner struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Meanwhile, Florence tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. At bat, Kleckner went 3-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and three runs, while Florence went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Those five RBI gave Kleckner a new career-high.
In other batting news, Kouts let Anna Overholt and Cheyanne Bailey run wild. Overholt went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one double, while Bailey went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one double, and one RBI. That's the most runs Bailey has posted over her last 11 matchups. Another player making a difference was Sophia Tikalsky, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs and one double.
Kouts was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .636. They are 6-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Morgan Township's loss dropped their record down to 9-12. As for Kouts, their victory bumped their record up to 9-13.
Morgan Township couldn't quite finish off Kouts when the teams last played back in April and fell 10-8. Can the Cherokees avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
