The Holy Name Green Wave will head out on the road to challenge the Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy Royals at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Holy Name, who comes in off a win.
Holy Name's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Lakeside as they made off with a 12-0 victory. The Green Wave might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight games by six runs or more this season.
Layla Williams looked comfortable as she tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Holy Name got a massive performance out of Kylee Blinky, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That home run marked the first that Blinky has launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Ava Posa, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Holy Name always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lakeside only posted an OBP of .118.
Highland hit Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy with a four-run fifth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Royals fell just short of the Hornets by a score of 4-3. The Royals' defeat signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Shaye Tepley spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on ten hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Bianca Czarnecki was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Holy Name pushed their record up to 18-4 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 13-10.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Holy Name has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Holy Name skirted past Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 8-6 in their previous meeting back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Green Wave since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
