The Logansport Berries will face off against the Northwestern Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Logansport will be looking to extend their current 12-game winning streak.
Logansport can't be too worried about heading out to take on Northwestern: they just beat Cathedral at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. The Berries came out on top in a nail-biter against the Fighting Irish on Friday, sneaking past 6-4.
Gracie Risley spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on six hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Natalee Packard was excellent, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one run and one double. Lucy Gordon was another key player, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs.
Meanwhile, Northwestern entered their tilt with Argos on Thursday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Dragons.
Northwestern also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Stevie-Rae Hedges gave up only one earned run on four hits and racked up 16 Ks.
On the hitting side, Northwestern's victory was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Maci Rody, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple. Karma Kitner also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.
Logansport pushed their record up to 23-4 with the win, which was their seventh straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Northwestern, their win bumped their record up to 10-14.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Logansport has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Northwestern struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Logansport skirted past Northwestern 3-1 in their previous meeting last Thursday. Will the Berries repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
