The Laurel Locomotives will square off against the Park Rangers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Laurel has 12 straight wins, Park has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Wednesday, Laurel made easy work of East Helena and carried off a 16-2 victory. The result was nothing new for the Locomotives, who have now won ten matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Hardin hit Park with a seven-run third inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Rangers fell just short of the Bulldogs by a score of 10-8.
Kenna Benzel was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just one earned (and seven unearned) runs off two hits. Benzel was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double. Those stolen bases were her first of the season.
In other batting news, Quinci Wood made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-5 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That home run marked the first that she has launched this season. Another player making a difference was Tess Goosey, who went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Laurel's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Park, their loss dropped their record down to 4-6.
Laurel took their win against Park in their previous meeting back in May of 2022 by a conclusive 11-4 score. Will the Locomotives repeat their success, or do the Rangers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
