The Middle Township Panthers will venture away from home to take on the Hammonton Blue Devils at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
It was a proper cat-fight when Middle Township faced off against Lower Cape May on Friday. The Panthers' pitchers stepped up to hand the Tigers a 17-0 shutout. The Panthers have beaten the Tigers the last five times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Tigers has come to flipping the script.
Hammonton came out on top against Holy Spirit on Tuesday thanks in part to the team's impressive seven-run fifth inning. The Blue Devils put the hurt on the Spartans with a sharp 12-0 win. While the Blue Devils didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-19), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Gracie Ravenkamp was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 5.3 strikeouts per game. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and one double. That home run was her first of the season.
In other batting news, Layla Cuneo-Snouffer was excellent, going 2-for-4 with one home run. That home run marked the first that she has launched this season. Another player making a difference was Alexis Vellucci, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Hammonton lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Hammonton pushed their record up to 9-2 with the victory, which was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.1 runs over those games. As for Middle Township, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Middle Township couldn't quite get it done against Hammonton when the teams last played back in March as they fell 8-3. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
