The Pentwater Falcons will square off against the Shelby Tigers at 4:15 p.m. on Monday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Pentwater has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Shelby will arrive with six straight wins.
For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last five times Pentwater and Marion have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Thursday. The Falcons fell just short of the Eagles by a score of 11-10. That's two games in a row now that the Falcons have lost by just one run.
Karina Olivarez made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two stolen bases and three runs. Those runs marked the first that she has scored this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Amelia Barter, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
While Shelby didn't have the best season last year (they finished 0-10), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Pentwater 6-4. The six-run effort marked the Tigers' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Jayna Burmeister was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 12 batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two hits any time she's pitched this season. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, Izzy Rudat was excellent, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs. Another player making a difference was Stella Springer, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Shelby's win bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Pentwater, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-4.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Pentwater has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Shelby struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Pentwater couldn't quite finish off Shelby in their previous matchup on Monday and fell 6-4. Can the Falcons avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
