vs
| 05/06/24 - Home | 11-1 W |
| 05/04/24 - Home | 11-1 W |
| 04/04/24 - Home | 9-1 W |
| 03/23/24 - Home | 16-1 W |
| 04/06/23 - Away | 12-2 W |
Ava has gone a perfect 5-0 against Mountain Grove recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. The Bears will challenge the Panthers at 4:30 p.m. Ava is coming into the contest hot, having won their last eight games.
On Thursday, Ava made easy work of Liberty and carried off a 12-1 victory. Considering the Bears have won six matches by more than eight runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Hannah Forrest was incredible, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs, one triple, and two RBI. That triple marked the first that she hit this season. Another player making a difference was Autumn Cudworth, who scored three runs while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Mountain Grove duked it out with Houston on Thursday. The Panthers walked away with a 12-7 win over the Tigers. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Panthers.
Hannah Dowden spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and six unearned) runs on four hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Gabby Miller was a standout: she scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Chloe Slagle, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI.
Mountain Grove kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Ava pushed their record up to 8-2 with the victory, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for Mountain Grove, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Everything went Ava's way against Mountain Grove in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as Ava made off with an 11-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
