Holy Cross hasn't had much luck against Mid Valley recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Crusaders will welcome the Spartans at 4:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Holy Cross' pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. Everything went their way against Western Wayne as they made off with an 11-0 victory. The win was nothing new for the Crusaders as they're now sitting on eight straight.
AVA SCHMIDT
| 05/02/25 @ Western Wayne | 2 |
| 05/01/25 @ Hazleton Area | 1 |
| 04/09/25 vs Western Wayne | 1 |
| 04/04/25 vs Riverside | 1 |
AVA SCHMIDT was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 13 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, earning one RBI, one run, and two stolen bases. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, MIA GALELLA was incredible, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. CLAIRE HELRING was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Holy Cross was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .444. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .324 or higher in eight consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Mid Valley's rock-solid pitcher showed up for the team's fifth consecutive shutout on Friday. They didn't even let Lakeland on the board, marking the Spartans' second-straight 15-0 shutout.
Ava Hazelton looked comfortable as she pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
At the plate, Mid Valley got a massive performance out of Elise Larson, who fired off two home runs, five RBI, and three runs while going 3-for-3. Larson continues to improve, besting her previous run total in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Krista Cortazar, who fired off two home runs and six RBI while going 2-for-3.
Mid Valley pushed their record up to 16-1-1 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.5 runs over those games. As for Holy Cross, their victory bumped their record up to 15-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Holy Cross hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.2 home runs per game. However, it's not like Mid Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Holy Cross couldn't quite finish off Mid Valley in their previous matchup back in April and fell 4-2. Will the Crusaders have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
