The Bunker Hill Bears will head out on the road to face off against the Maiden Blue Devils at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a seven-game winning streak alive.
Bunker Hill's hitters will try to repeat the strong performance they gave on Wednesday, when they got past West Caldwell's usually-dominant pitching crew. Bunker Hill was the clear victor by a 10-3 margin over West Caldwell. Considering Bunker Hill has won five matches by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Serena Thurman made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out 16 batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits (and only one walk). Thurman has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in 13 consecutive pitching appearances. Thurman was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in two of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ivy Bowman, who went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI, and a double. Another player making a difference was Mykyiah Lafone, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Maiden was not the first on the board last Tuesday, but they got there more often. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Bandys 4-2. Despite the win, that was the fewest runs Maiden has scored all year.
Raegan Rembert spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on three hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, Maddy Clontz was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Wray, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Bunker Hill's victory was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-1. As for Maiden, their record is now 9-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bunker Hill has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 12 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Maiden struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Bunker Hill suffered a grim 12-4 defeat to Maiden when the teams last played back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Rembert, who struck out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off 11 hits (and only one walk). Now that Bunker Hill 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
