Western Reserve is 1-6 against McDonald since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. Western Reserve will venture away from home to challenge McDonald at 7:00 p.m. Western Reserve has given up an average of 15.4 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Western Reserve is headed into Monday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Saturday. They lost 13-3 to Liberty.
Western Reserve saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Maddie Kelley, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask McDonald). They put the hurt on Springfield with a sharp 15-2 win on Monday. The victory continues a trend for the Blue Devils in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won four in a row.
Aubrey Evans made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out 16 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 6.6 strikeouts per game. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. Those runs marked the first that she scored this season.
In other batting news, Miley Titus and Marissa Colarich did most of the damage at the plate: Titus scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Colarich scored two runs while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. Titus also put up an RBI, which was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Gianna Mancini, who scored three runs and stole a base.
McDonald always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in four consecutive contests.
Western Reserve's defeat dropped their record down to 1-4. As for McDonald, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-4.
McDonald's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Western Reserve hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .317. It's a different story for McDonald, though, as they've only averaged .220. Will they be able to contain Western Reserve's hitters?
Western Reserve came out on top in a nail-biter against McDonald when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 8-6. Will Western Reserve repeat their success, or does McDonald has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
