The Pioneer Panthers will be staying on the road on Thursday to face off against the Rochester Zebras at 6:30 p.m. Pioneer will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
Pioneer is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They came out on top against Wabash by a score of 9-4.
Lois Layer spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and three unearned) runs on four hits and racked up eight Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Ava Beasy and Kamryn Newby did most of the damage at the plate: Beasy scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4, while Newby scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4. Emma Sells was another key contributor, going 4-for-5 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Meanwhile, Rochester had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.6 runs), and they went ahead and made it ten on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 15-3 margin over the Bluejays.
Bria Rensberger made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out nine batters over four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off two hits. Rensberger was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-3 with an RBI.
In other batting news, Aubrey Wilson was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing five bases while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was Brailyn Hunter, who scored three runs while going 2-for-3.
Pioneer's victory bumped their record up to 19-8. As for Rochester, they have been performing well recently as they've won 12 of their last 15 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-9 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Pioneer has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Rochester struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.3. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Pioneer skirted past Rochester 8-7 in their previous meeting back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pioneer since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
