The Forest Hills Rangers will venture away from home to take on the Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Forest Hills comes in on eight and Westmont Hilltop on three.
Last Thursday, Forest Hills made easy work of Clearfield and carried off an 8-1 win. The Rangers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matches by seven runs or more this season.
Avery Smiach
| 04/17/25 @ Clearfield | 13 |
| 04/14/25 vs Somerset | 9 |
| 04/04/25 vs Bellefonte | 13 |
| 04/01/25 vs Central Cambria | 8 |
| 03/25/25 vs Bedford | 8 |
| + 2 more games |
Avery Smiach made a splash while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 13 over seven innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ana Spangler, who fired off two home runs while going 3-for-4. She is on a roll when it comes to home runs, as she's now launched at least one in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Morgan Gdula, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double.
Forest Hills kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Clearfield only managed two hits.
While Westmont Hilltop didn't have the best season last year (they finished 5-10), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Richland a 9-0 shutout on Tuesday. The Hilltoppers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by eight runs or more this season.
Abby Rozich was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That home run was her first of the season. Kelsie Muto was another key player, going 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs.
Forest Hills pushed their record up to 8-0 with the victory, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they've averaged 9.0 runs this season. As for Westmont Hilltop, their record is now 7-1.
Westmont Hilltop's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday. Forest Hills has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Westmont Hilltop, though, as they've been averaging only 4.1 strikeouts. Will Forest Hills keep running through batters, or will the Hilltoppers buck the trend?
Forest Hills came out on top in a nail-biter against Westmont Hilltop in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, sneaking past 4-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Rangers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
