St. Francis extended their losing streak to three on Thursday, dropping their season record down to 3-4 in the process. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost an 18-17 heartbreaker at the hands of the Petoskey Northmen. That's two games in a row now that the Gladiators have lost by just one run.
As for Petoskey, the win keeps they at an undefeated 13-0. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average this season.
For Petoskey's part, Bre VerCautren made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. VerCautren was even better at the plate, going 3-for-5 with six RBI, one triple, and one run. Those six RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Petoskey got a massive performance out of Lyla Janes, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs and two RBI. The dominant performance also gave Janes a new career-high in hits (two). Another player making a difference was Cora Howard, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base.
Coming up, St. Francis will be playing in front of their home fans against Gladstone on Saturday. The Braves will roll in looking for their sixth straight win, something the Gladiators surely won't give up without a fight. As for Petoskey, they will head out on the road to challenge Cadillac at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
