The Notre Dame-Green Pond Crusaders will challenge the Nazareth Area Blue Eagles at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Notre Dame-Green Pond comes in on seven and Nazareth Area on four.
On Friday, Notre Dame-Green Pond made easy work of Saucon Valley and carried off a 12-2 win. Fans of the Crusaders have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 6+ runs.
Notre Dame-Green Pond got a great performance from Rachel Fisher as she tossed five innings while giving up just two earned runs off six hits. Fisher has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single walk in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Notre Dame-Green Pond let Hannah Lilly and Riley Palank run wild. Lilly went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one run, while Palank went 2-for-4 with four RBI, one triple, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Kelsey Bedics, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-1.
Notre Dame-Green Pond was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .476. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .344 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Nazareth Area). Their pitchers stepped up to hand William Allen a 17-0 shutout on Tuesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Alina Weaver made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). Weaver was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and four RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Avery Dailey, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2. Those stolen bases marked the first that she snagged this season. Another player making a difference was Avery Kauffman, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Nazareth Area pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Notre Dame-Green Pond, their record now sits at 7-0.
Saturday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Notre Dame-Green Pond hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .498. However, it's not like Nazareth Area struggles in that department as they've averaged .429. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
