North Laurel has won ten straight games at home, while South Laurel has won ten straight on the road dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Jaguars will welcome the Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (North Laurel 2.2, South Laurel 2.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
While North Laurel's victory against Madison Southern wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Jaguars sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-4 win over the Eagles on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Jaguars in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won eight in a row.
Tessa Monhollen
| 04/15/25 vs Madison Southern | 5 |
| 04/11/25 vs Corbin | 6 |
| 04/03/25 vs Eastern | 10 |
| 04/01/25 vs Mercy | 6 |
Tessa Monhollen spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Emma Carl, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Lucy Jo Linville, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
North Laurel was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .419. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Madison Southern only posted a batting average of .217.
Meanwhile, South Laurel put their dominant pitcher on display in the team's third consecutive shutout on Monday. They never let Corbin get on the board and left with a 9-0 win. Considering the Cardinals have won seven matchups by more than six runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Kenzie Williams made a splash no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over seven innings pitched. Williams was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI.
In other batting news, South Laurel got a big performance out of Addison Baker, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Bailey Frazier was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
South Laurel has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for North Laurel, their win bumped their record up to 14-1-1.
Both North Laurel and South Laurel just can't seem to miss. The Jaguars have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.3 hits per game. However, it's not like South Laurel struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.9 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
North Laurel skirted past South Laurel 7-5 in their previous meeting back in March. Do the Jaguars have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cardinals turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
