The Centennial Cougars will venture away from home to square off against the Forest Lake Rangers at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Centennial 2.7, Forest Lake 1.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Centennial is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to ten runs on Monday, they were much more limited against White Bear Lake on Wednesday. They took a 6-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Bears.
Meanwhile, Forest Lake came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with eight straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Raptors as they made off with an 11-3 victory. The result was nothing new for the Rangers, who have now won eight games by six runs or more so far this season.
The team relied heavily on Olivia Hauer, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Isabella Dowdall, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Forest Lake hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in eight consecutive contests.
Forest Lake pushed their record up to 17-1 with the win, which was their 17th straight on the road dating back to last season. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.9 runs over those games. As for Centennial, their defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 9-4.
Centennial beat Forest Lake 6-3 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Rangers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
