Pine Island has been on the road for two straight, but on Thursday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Hayfield Vikings at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
If Pine Island beats Hayfield with seven runs on Thursday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. Pine Island came out on top against Lewiston-Altura by a score of 7-2 on Friday. That's two games straight that Pine Island has won by exactly five runs.
Meanwhile, Hayfield put the finishing touches on their sixth blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Blooming Prairie a 13-0 shutout. Hayfield's win was all the more impressive since Blooming Prairie was averaging only four runs allowed on the season.
Ardella Bamlet tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched.
At the plate, Hayfield let Natalie Beaver and McKenna Selk loose on the outfield. Beaver scored two runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4, while Selk went 2-for-4 with four runs and a triple. Melody Walker was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and a double.
Pine Island is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-7 record this season. As for Hayfield, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 10-6.
Pine Island skirted past Hayfield 11-9 in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Does Pine Island have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hayfield turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
