The Central Panthers will venture away from home to challenge the West Albany Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Central's pitching crew has only allowed 3.2 runs per game this season, so West Albany's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
West Albany will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Central extended their winning streak to three on Wednesday. The Panthers blew past Corvallis 9-2. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 matches by seven runs or more this season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for West Albany, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They skirted past Lebanon 4-2.
Gabriella Young 2027 spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on four hits and racked up 15 Ks.
At the plate, Ruby Salazar 2027 was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two runs.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: West Albany kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.6 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 9.8.
Central pushed their record up to 14-5 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for West Albany, their record is now 8-13.
Central was able to grind out a solid victory over West Albany when the teams last played back in April, winning 5-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
