Maplewood has been on the road for three straight, but on Thursday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Chalker Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Maplewood is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.1 runs per game this season.
Maplewood's hitters might be in the hot seat on Thursday considering what happened against Pymatuning Valley on Tuesday. They lost 12-0 to the Lakers. The loss continues a trend for Maplewood in their matchups with Pymatuning Valley: they've now lost five in a row.
Maplewood saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lauran Krieg, who went 1-for-2 with a stolen base.
Meanwhile, Chalker can now show off six landslide victories after their most recent matchup on Monday. They were the clear victor by a 13-3 margin over Lordstown. The win was nothing new for Chalker as they're now sitting on five straight.
Gabby Hromada made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Hromada has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances. Hromada was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, Gabby Nieves and Morgan Strock did most of the damage at the plate: Nieves scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-5, while Strock scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-5. Julia Krukowski was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-5.
Maplewood's defeat dropped their record down to 9-7. As for Chalker, their victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-2.
Thursday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Maplewood has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .443. However, it's not like Chalker struggles in that department as they've averaged .481. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Maplewood suffered a grim 7-1 defeat to Chalker in their previous meeting two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hromada, who struck out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Now that Maplewood knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
