Hilltop is on a seven-game streak of home wins, while Montpelier is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Hilltop Cadets will take on the Montpelier Locomotives at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams have allowed few runs on average, (Hilltop: 2, Montpelier: 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Hilltop is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. They won by a run and slipped past Edgerton 5-4.
Giada Rising made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. Rising was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-5.
In other batting news, Halle Jones was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-6. Another player making a difference was Shealyn Brown, who went 3-for-6 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Montpelier put the finishing touches on their 11th blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. They never let Holgate onto the board and left with a 22-0 win. Montpelier's pitching crew has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a run in their last three games.
Like Hilltop, Montpelier also got a great game from a two-way player: Madelyn Hopper. On the mound, Hopper struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Meanwhile, Neriah Thorp tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Hopper has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in 14 consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Hopper went 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs, while Thorp scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kelsie Bumb, who scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Hennah Beck, who scored two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Hilltop is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 23-5 record this season. As for Montpelier, their victory bumped their record up to 16-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hilltop has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Montpelier struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hilltop was able to grind out a solid win over Montpelier in their previous meeting back in April, winning 6-1. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Hopper, who struck out ten batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off eight hits. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Hilltop still be able to contain Hopper? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
