The James Monroe Mavericks will challenge the Midland Trail Patriots at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
James Monroe lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Woodrow Wilson, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Thursday's match. The Mavericks put the hurt on the Flying Eagles with a sharp 10-1 victory on Thursday. The win was familiar territory for the Mavericks, who have now won three contests in a row.
Peighton Griffith was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles. She also put up a triple, which was her first of the season. Peyton Street was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
James Monroe always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .517. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Woodrow Wilson only posted an OBP of .273.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Midland Trail). Their pitchers stepped up to hand Richwood a 21-0 shutout on Thursday. With that victory, the Patriots brought their scoring average up to 6.4 runs per game.
Stephanie Harrell made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. What's more, she posted four strikeouts, the most she's had since back in March. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Abby Parcell, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Those three hits gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Mary Mcgraw, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs.
The win got James Monroe back to even at 5-5. As for Midland Trail, their victory bumped their record up to 5-9.
James Monroe couldn't quite get it done against Midland Trail when the teams last played back in May of 2024 as they fell 4-1. Can the Mavericks avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
