The Pine Grove Cardinals will take on the Tri-Valley Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Pine Grove 1.6, Tri-Valley 3.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Pine Grove can't be too worried about heading out to take on Tri-Valley: they just beat Williams Valley at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. The Cardinals were the clear victors by a 14-5 margin over the Vikings on Thursday. The result was nothing new for the Cardinals, who have now won 17 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Callee Leffler was incredible, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. Madison Shiffer was another key player, going 1-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Pine Grove kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in five consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Tri-Valley had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 4-3 W against the Spartans. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Bulldogs have posted since April 22nd.
Kora Rodichok spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on four hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Tri-Valley's victory was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Lydia Rodichok, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Pine Grove is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 16 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-2 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Tri-Valley, their record is now 16-5.
Both Pine Grove and Tri-Valley just can't seem to miss. The Cardinals have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.6 hits per game. However, it's not like Tri-Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.9 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Pine Grove came out on top in a nail-biter against Tri-Valley in their previous meeting back in April, sneaking past 4-2. Will the Cardinals repeat their success, or do the Bulldogs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
