The Millville Thunderbolts are taking a road trip to square off against the St. Joseph Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Millville was handed a heart-breaking two-run loss in their last game, but they sure didn't let that happen against Cedar Creek on Wednesday. The Thunderbolts were the clear victors by an 8-1 margin over the Pirates. The Thunderbolts not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since April 7th (when they won 11-1).
Emily Praul spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on six hits and racked up six Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Millville let Savanna Hadley and Isabella Musey run wild. Hadley went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Musey went 1-for-4 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most runs Hadley has posted since back in March. Gabriella Jacquet also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Millville hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, St. Joseph waltzed into their contest on Monday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They put the hurt on the Raiders with a sharp 7-1 victory. Considering the Wildcats have won nine games by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Elaina Portalatin spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on eight hits.
At the plate, Kaylin Marshall was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Alaina Dorsey, who got on base in three of her five plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
St. Joseph pushed their record up to 14-3 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Millville, the win got them back to even at 8-8.
Millville couldn't quite finish off St. Joseph in their previous meeting back in April and fell 11-9. Can the Thunderbolts avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
