It'll be Battle of the Birds when Eagles takes on the Mill Creek Hawks at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Milton's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Mill Creek's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Milton took a loss when they played away from home last Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Johns Creek 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Eagles have posted since August 31, 2023.
Avery Miller spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on four hits and racked up 14 Ks. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in strikeouts.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Carson McElroy, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of Elizabeth Wilkes, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Milton was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .393. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Johns Creek only posted a batting average of .160.
Meanwhile, Mill Creek got the win against North Gwinnett on Tuesday by a conclusive 10-4. The result was nothing new for the Hawks, who have now won 12 games by six runs or more so far this season.
Kenzie Fitch looked comfortable as she pitched 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, Ronnie Wade and Blair McClain did most of the damage at the plate: Wade scored two runs while going 2-for-4, while McClain scored three runs while going 3-for-5. The team also got some help courtesy of Ava Brookshire, who scored a run while going 3-for-4.
Milton is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 18-8 record this season. As for Mill Creek, they pushed their record up to 19-7 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road.
Mill Creek's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Milton has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.5 hits per game. It's a different story for Mill Creek, though, as they've been averaging 9.2. Given Milton's sizable advantage in that area, Mill Creek will need to find a way to close that gap.
Milton was able to grind out a solid win over Mill Creek in their previous matchup back in October of 2021, winning 7-2. Will Milton repeat their success, or does Mill Creek have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
