Danville is 9-1 against Richwoods since April of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Danville Vikings will be playing in front of their home fans against the Richwoods Knights at 4:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Having struggled with four defeats in a row, Danville finally turned things around against Urbana on Thursday. Danville's pitcher stepped up to hand Urbana a 12-0 shutout.
Kendall Rannebarger made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Rannebarger has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive pitching appearances. Rannebarger was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Alicia Angus, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Payton Beith, who scored a run and stole four bases while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, Richwoods has not done well against Peoria Notre Dame recently (they were 0-7 in their previous seven matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Richwoods sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 13-11 win over Peoria Notre Dame. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for Richwoods' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Mia Cook and Olivia Hauri did most of the damage at the plate: Cook went 2-for-3 with three RBI, a triple, and a run, while Hauri scored two runs while going 3-for-4. Paige Sarraf was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.
Danville's victory bumped their record up to 10-11. As for Richwoods, their win ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 4-16.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Danville hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Richwoods struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Danville took their victory against Richwoods in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 15-8. Will Danville repeat their success, or does Richwoods have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
