The Montpelier Locomotives will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Hicksville Aces at 5:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Montpelier has three straight wins, Hicksville has seven straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Monday, Montpelier was able to grind out a solid victory over Evergreen, taking the game 4-1.
Madelyn Hopper spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered one run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up 11 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in 11 consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Lyla Mahan was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Hennah Beck, who scored a run and stole a base.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought game, but Hicksville had to settle for a 6-5 defeat against Fairview on Friday.
Evy McAlexander was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-4 with a home run. Mckenna Rice was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Montpelier has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season. As for Hicksville, their loss dropped their record down to 6-12.
Hicksville's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Montpelier has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .457. It's a different story for Hicksville, though, as they've only averaged .348. Will they be able to contain Montpelier's hitters?
Montpelier might still be hurting after the 8-2 defeat they got from Hicksville when the teams last played back in May of 2023. Can Montpelier avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
