The Noblesville Millers will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Kokomo Wildkats at 5:30 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Noblesville is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: Hamilton Southeastern, who was ranked sixth in their home state at the time (Noblesville was ranked 18th). Noblesville fell just short of Hamilton Southeastern by a score of 5-4 on Tuesday. Noblesville's loss signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Noblesville got a good showing from Lulu Van Beek, who struck out six batters over 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off five hits (and only one walk). Van Beek has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in ten consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Noblesville saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Delaney Rundle, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-5. Rundle has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times she's played. Gabby Fowler was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought match, but Kokomo had to settle for an 8-7 defeat against Logansport on Wednesday. Kokomo has struggled against Logansport recently, as their game on Wednesday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Jordan Thatcher made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-5 with two triples, two stolen bases, and a run. The team also got some help courtesy of Dani Tate, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.
Noblesville's loss dropped their record down to 10-8. As for Kokomo, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-7.
Thursday's contest will be a test for both team's pitchers. Noblesville hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .363. However, it's not like Kokomo struggles in that department as they've averaged .332. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Noblesville beat Kokomo 3-0 when the teams last played back in May of 2023. Does Noblesville have another victory up their sleeve, or will Kokomo turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
