Franklin Pierce and Fife are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2018, but likely not for long. The Franklin Pierce Cardinals will head out on the road to square off against the Fife Trojans at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Franklin Pierce sitting on five straight victories and Fife on eight.
Franklin Pierce is hoping to deliver their fans another blowout on Thursday, just like they did against Lakes (and have done all season long). Franklin Pierce was the clear victor by a 22-2 margin over Lakes on Monday.
Leila Kannach made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over four innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Kannach was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kiley Sledge, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with a home run, four runs, and two RBI. Bailey Behm was another key contributor, going 2-for-2 with four RBI and two runs.
Meanwhile, Fife beat White River 6-1 on Tuesday.
Mallory Geving spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on nine hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in eight consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Paige Vanmeter, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Ashlynn Monroe, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Franklin Pierce's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-1. As for Fife, their record now sits at 11-3.
Thursday's contest will be a test for both team's pitchers. Franklin Pierce hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .415. However, it's not like Fife struggles in that department as they've averaged .403. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Franklin Pierce couldn't quite finish off Fife when the teams last played back in April and fell 5-3. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Fife's Madi Walls, who struck out 14 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. Now that Franklin Pierce 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
