It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but North Newton had no problem doing just that on Saturday. They skirted past the Illiana Christian Vikings 5-4. Winning may never get old, but North Newton sure is getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Sydney Rainford made a splash no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 16 over ten innings pitched. Rainford has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in 14 consecutive pitching appearances. Rainford was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her six plate appearances with two stolen bases.
In other batting news, North Newton let Brynn Christenson and Cheyann Cahill loose on the outfield. Christenson scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances, while Cahill went 2-for-4 with four RBI and a double. Christenson has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times she's played.
On Illiana Christian's side, Mikayla Derks spent all ten innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five earned runs on nine hits and racked up ten Ks.
On the hitting side, Lydia VanderWoude was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 3-for-5.
North Newton is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 16 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 20-3 record this season. As for Illiana Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 19-5.
North Newton will be staying on the road on Thursday to face off against Hebron at 5:00 p.m. Hebron is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7 runs per game this season. Illiana Christian does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
