North Newton is 0-6 against Hammond Bishop Noll since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The North Newton Spartans will square off against the Hammond Bishop Noll Warriors at 4:30 p.m. North Newton's pitching crew has only allowed 1.6 runs per game this season, so Hammond Bishop Noll's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
North Newton is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Whiting a 13-0 shutout. Considering North Newton has won 11 games by more than nine runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Sydney Rainford was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 14 over five innings pitched. Rainford has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in six consecutive pitching appearances. Rainford was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, Brynn Christenson was a standout: she scored three runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2. Isabella LaTulip was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Hammond Bishop Noll sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-6 win over Calumet Christian on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Hammond Bishop Noll.
Like North Newton, Hammond Bishop Noll also got a great game from a two-way player: Madelynn (Maddie) Queen. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up four earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Queen was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.
In other batting news, Caitlyn Walker and Aiyanna (Yani) Espinosa did most of the damage at the plate: Walker scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Espinosa scored a run while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was Anais (Niecy) Reyna, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
North Newton is on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 14 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 18-3 record this season. As for Hammond Bishop Noll, their record is now 12-7.
North Newton suffered a grim 13-2 defeat to Hammond Bishop Noll when the teams last played back in April of 2017. Can North Newton avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
