The Freeport Pretzels will look to take advantage of their home field for the first time this season as they take on the Pearl City Wolves at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Freeport will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Friday, then bounced right back against West Carroll on Tuesday. Freeport blew past West Carroll 12-5. The Pretzels haven't had any issues with the Thunder recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Mackenzee Matz made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off seven hits (and only one walk). Matz was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Quinn Krzeminiski, who fired off two home runs, three runs, and three RBI while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Grace Muench, who scored four runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Pearl City entered their tilt with Polo on Wednesday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Marcos a 13-0 shutout. Considering the Wolves have won four matchups by more than six runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Kylie Campbell was a standout: she scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Natalie Lotz, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI.
Pearl City always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .519. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Polo only posted an OBP of .294.
Pearl City's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Freeport, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Freeport hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Pearl City struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.8 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Freeport beat Pearl City 6-2 when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Does Freeport have another victory up their sleeve, or will Pearl City turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
