The Shelby Whippets will square off against the Ontario Warriors at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing isn't great for Shelby: they have been struggling with three straight losses at home, while Ontario has snatched up five consecutive wins on the road.
Shelby will bounce into Tuesday's contest after beating Bellevue, who they had gone 0-5 against in their five prior meetings. The Whippets put the hurt on the Redmen with a sharp 15-5 victory on Monday. The result was nothing new for the Whippets, who have now won seven matchups by eight runs or more so far this season.
Karlie Walp was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March. Braylee Sturts was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Shelby kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. They are a perfect 10-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Ontario came out on top against Mohawk on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive four-run seventh inning. Ontario had just enough and edged out Mohawk 7-5.
Eden Howard spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and two unearned) runs on ten hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Ellie Dawson was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Kennedy Weiler, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two runs.
Ontario is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Shelby, their victory bumped their record up to 14-8.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Shelby hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Ontario struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Shelby's way against Ontario in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as Shelby made off with a 13-6 win. Will the Whippets repeat their success, or do the Warriors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
