The Springs Valley Blackhawks are on the road again on Friday to play the Orleans Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Springs Valley will bounce into Friday's match after beating Salem, who they hadn't topped in seven consecutive meetings. Springs Valley blew past Salem 9-1.
Lily Hickman was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over seven innings pitched. Hickman has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings every time she's pitched this season. Hickman was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Elliott Wininger was excellent, going 1-for-4 with four RBI, a stolen base, and a double. Karson Dalton was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Orleans sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over Bloomington North on Thursday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Orleans.
Like Springs Valley, Orleans also got a great game from a two-way player: Izzie Rutherford. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. Rutherford was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Ava Cooper was excellent, going 2-for-2 with a stolen base, two RBI, and a double.
Springs Valley's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 7-8. As for Orleans, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-7 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Springs Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Orleans struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Springs Valley couldn't quite finish off Orleans when the teams last played back in April and fell 2-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Rutherford, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 14 over seven innings pitched. Now that Springs Valley knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
