The Daleville Broncos will challenge the Monroe Central Golden Bears at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Daleville will be strutting in after a win while Monroe Central will be coming in after a loss.
Daleville took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Cambridge City Lincoln with a sharp 14-1 victory.
Rylan Leonard made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Leonard was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Valyn Pattengale was incredible, firing off two home runs, six RBI, and two stolen bases while going 4-for-4. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April of 2024. Maddie Rees was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Daleville always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cambridge City Lincoln only posted an OBP of .167.
Meanwhile, Monroe Central was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their seventh straight defeat dating back to last season. They lost 16-0 to Shenandoah.
Monroe Central saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Darian Duncan, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one double. That hit was Duncan's first of the season.
Monroe Central's loss dropped their record down to 0-5. As for Daleville, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Monroe Central's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Daleville has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Monroe Central, though, as they've been averaging only 1.6 strikeouts. Will Daleville keep running through batters, or will the Golden Bears buck the trend?
Daleville beat Monroe Central 8-4 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will the Broncos repeat their success, or do the Golden Bears have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
