The Speedway Sparkplugs will face off against the Shelbyville Golden Bears at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Speedway has given up an average of 9 runs per game this season, but Saturday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Speedway is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 16 runs last Friday, they were much more limited against Indianapolis Lutheran on Wednesday. They came up short against the Saints, falling 12-2. The contest marked the Sparkplugs' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
Mallory Short was cooking despite her team's loss, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Shelbyville, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They walked away with a 12-9 victory over Columbus East on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Golden Bears in their matchups with the Olympians: they've now won seven in a row.
Kali Laycock and Addison Stieneker did most of the damage at the plate: Laycock got on base in all five of her plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and one double, while Stieneker went 1-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Julie Garrison was another key player, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, two doubles, and one run.
Shelbyville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .423. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .310 or higher in nine consecutive games.
Shelbyville pushed their record up to 9-6 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.5 runs over those games. As for Speedway, they now have a losing record of 2-3.
Shelbyville's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Speedway has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.4 hits per game. It's a different story for Shelbyville, though, as they've been averaging 8.7 hits. Given Speedway's sizable advantage in that area, the Golden Bears will need to find a way to close that gap. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
