The Fishers Tigers will square off against the McCutcheon Mavericks at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Fishers is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: New Palestine, who was ranked first at the time (Fishers was ranked 25th). The Tigers put the hurt on the Dragons with a sharp 10-4 victory on Wednesday. With that win, the Tigers brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Kate Murray made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched seven innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits. Murray was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, Brooke Clayton was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and one double. Another player making a difference was Cate Summerfield, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Fishers always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as New Palestine only posted an OBP of .303.
Meanwhile, McCutcheon got themselves on the board against Lafayette Central Catholic on Thursday, but Lafayette Central Catholic never followed suit. They were the clear victors by a 15-0 margin over the Knights. The victory continues a trend for the Mavericks in their matchups with the Knights: they've now won nine in a row.
Like Fishers, McCutcheon also got a great game from a two-way player: Nyah Patel. She struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Those eight strikeouts gave Patel a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, Molly Davis was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. Mallorie Beutel was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Fishers' win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 13-7. As for McCutcheon, their victory bumped their record up to 10-11.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Fishers hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like McCutcheon struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Fishers' way against McCutcheon in their previous meeting back in April of 2021, as Fishers made off with a 10-2 win. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Mavericks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
