The Amherst Falcons will head out on the road to square off against the Almond-Bancroft Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Amherst lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Iola-Scandinavia, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Monday's game. The Falcons' pitcher stepped up to hand the Thunderbirds a 7-0 shutout on Monday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last three times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Not much got past Sam Nooyen, who gave up just five hits and racked up six Ks to keep Iola-Scandinavia off the board. Nooyen has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Delaney Conner, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base. Those two runs gave her a new career-high. Aubrey Chandler also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.
Meanwhile, Almond-Bancroft entered their tilt with Pittsville on Monday with three consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with four. They blew past the Panthers 20-0. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won ten contests by nine runs or more so far this season.
Almond-Bancroft let Riya Ceballos and Sophia Chapa run wild. Ceballos went 1-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs, while Chapa got on base in all three of her plate appearances with three runs and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Mya Dernbach, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI.
Almond-Bancroft always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .714. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Almond-Bancroft pushed their record up to 14-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for Amherst, they now have a winning record of 7-6.
Amherst suffered a grim 10-3 defeat to Almond-Bancroft in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Falcons avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
