Varina has enjoyed the comforts of home their last seven games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the Mechanicsville Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Varina is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 10.1 runs per game this season.
Last Wednesday, Varina suffered a tough 14-6 loss at the hands of Highland Springs.
Hailey Butler put in work no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 17 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and 13 unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). Butler has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings every time she's pitched this season. Butler was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and a triple.
In other batting news, Willow Nash was cooking despite her team's loss, going 3-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI. Elaina Montalvo was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Even though they lost, Varina kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 16 runs the game before, Mechanicsville was a bit more limited in their game on Friday. They fell just short of Atlee by a score of 3-2. Mechanicsville has not had much luck with Atlee recently, as the team's come up short the last five times they've met.
Mechanicsville saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kendall Wilkinson, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Varina's record now sits at 5-4. As for Mechanicsville, they now have a losing record at 5-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Varina has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Mechanicsville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Varina suffered a grim 9-0 defeat to Mechanicsville in their previous meeting back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Mechanicsville's Bailey Johnson, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Now that Varina knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
