Varina is 0-10 against Hanover since March of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Varina Blue Devils will head out on the road to square off against the Hanover Hawks at 6:00 p.m. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Varina took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Armstrong a 17-0 shutout. Considering Varina has won five games by more than 12 runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Hailey Butler made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 14 over five innings pitched. Butler has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than 12 strikeouts every time she's pitched this season. Butler was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring four runs and stealing four bases while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Varina got a massive performance out of Willow Nash, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, six RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Hailey Martin, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Hanover put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 1-0 victory over Atlee. Despite the win, that was the fewest runs Hanover has scored all year.
The result came thanks to Lillian Parrish's shutout, as she gave up just two hits and racked up 18 Ks.
On the hitting side, Hanover saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kaileigh Byars, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Varina now has a winning record of 7-6. As for Hanover, their victory was their 12th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-0.
Varina's speedy runners might be the difference in Monday's matchup. Varina has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 6.4 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Hanover, though, as they've been averaging only 0.8. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Varina continue to outrun the ball?
Varina might still be hurting after the 11-0 defeat they got from Hanover in their previous meeting back in April. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Parrish, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 14 over five innings pitched. Now that Varina knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
