Harbor Creek is on a four-game streak of home wins, while McDowell is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Huskies will welcome the Trojans at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Harbor Creek's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over Titusville. The Huskies haven't had any issues with the Rockets recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Brooklynn Cipalla was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Arianna Denning, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI.
Harbor Creek hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, McDowell's rock-solid pitchers showed up for the team's third consecutive shutout on Thursday. They put the hurt on General McLane with a sharp 12-0 victory. Surprisingly, this marked the Trojans' fifth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Emma Mickel and Gabriella Deluca were major factors no matter where they played. On the mound, Mickel tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Deluca struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one walk in nine consecutive appearances. At bat, Mickel went 3-for-5 with one double and one RBI, while Deluca went 2-for-5 with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, McDowell let Isabelle Nageli and Alexandra Smith run wild. Nageli went 3-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles, while Smith went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and one double. Those two doubles gave Nageli a new career-high. Avya Mickel was another key player, going 2-for-5 with one triple, one run, and one double.
McDowell's win bumped their record up to 10-1. As for Harbor Creek, their victory bumped their record up to 8-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Harbor Creek hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like McDowell struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Harbor Creek couldn't quite get it done against McDowell in their previous matchup two weeks ago as they fell 5-2. Will the Huskies have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
