The Pendleton Heights Arabians will head out on the road to square off against the Noblesville Millers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pendleton Heights will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.
Pendleton Heights is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Kokomo on Tuesday as they made off with an 18-5 win. Considering the Arabians have won six contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Kaylee Smith, who fired off two home runs, five RBI, and one double while going 3-for-4. Those two home runs gave her a new career-high. Mia Leyva also deserves some recognition as she got her first hit of the season.
Pendleton Heights always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .778. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Noblesville faced Cathedral in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. The Millers fell just short of the Fighting Irish by a score of 7-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Millers have suffered since April 22, 2024.
Noblesville also got a good showing from Addison Retzinger, who tossed 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. That's the fewest hits Retzinger has allowed since back in May of 2024.
On the hitting side, Maggie Kern and Haley Schatko stepped up to the plate in a big way. Kern went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI, while Schatko went 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Addi Emmerson, who got on base in two of her three plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
The victory got Pendleton Heights back to even at 8-8. As for Noblesville, their defeat ended a 13-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 9-4.
Thursday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Pendleton Heights hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .323. However, it's not like Noblesville struggles in that department as they've averaged .363. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Pendleton Heights couldn't quite finish off Noblesville when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 6-4. Can the Arabians avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
