The Manchester Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Northwest Indians at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Manchester will be looking to keep their eight-game home win streak alive.
On Thursday, it was a hard-fought match, but Manchester had to settle for a 5-4 loss against Dalton.
Manchester saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cassidy Perry, who went 2-for-4 with a home run. Perry has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances.
Meanwhile, Northwest scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Thursday. They never let Orrville onto the board and left with a 21-0 victory. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Ally Sharrer made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Sharrer was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Autumn Kennard, who went 5-for-5 with six RBI, four runs, and two stolen bases. Lily Lyons was another key contributor, scoring four runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-5.
Manchester's defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 16-5. As for Northwest, the victory got them back to even at 9-9.
Northwest's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Manchester has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.9 hits per game. It's a different story for Northwest, though, as they've been averaging 10.1. Given Manchester's sizable advantage in that area, Northwest will need to find a way to close that gap.
Manchester came out on top in a nail-biter against Northwest in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, sneaking past 9-8. Will Manchester repeat their success, or does Northwest have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
