The Colonie Central Wolfpack will challenge the Columbia Blue Devils at 4:15 p.m. on Monday. The last five games Colonie Central has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Colonie Central's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They skirted past Chatham 1-0. That's two games straight that the Wolfpack have won by just one run.
Colonie Central's victory was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Chloe Alexander, who went 1-for-2 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Columbia, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Saratoga Springs on Friday, sneaking past 11-9. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Blue Devils considering their two-run performance the game before.
Stella Guzek made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. She was even better at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and one RBI. Those two runs gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Madison Marr, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Tessa Warner, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Columbia was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .429. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Saratoga Springs only posted a batting average of .290.
Columbia pushed their record up to 13-2 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Colonie Central, their win bumped their record up to 13-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Colonie Central has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Columbia struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Colonie Central couldn't quite get it done against Columbia in their previous meeting back in April as they fell 6-2. Will the Wolfpack have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
