St. Thomas More is 1-9 against Monticello since April of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Sabers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Sages at 4:30 p.m. St. Thomas More has given up an average of 12.2 runs per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
St. Thomas More is headed into Friday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their ninth straight game on Wednesday. They lost 17-5 to Iroquois West.
Ella Atwood was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-2 with three stolen bases, three RBI, and one run. That run marked the first that she has scored this season. Kaitlynn Ballard was another key player, going 1-for-3 with three stolen bases and two runs.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Monticello, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Paxton-Buckley-Loda an 8-0 shutout on Thursday. Considering the Sages have won eight matches by more than seven runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Not much got past Madison Highland, who gave up just two hits to keep Paxton-Buckley-Loda off the board. Highland has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Lucy Leatherwood, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Ali Weidner, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI.
Monticello's win was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 15-4. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for St. Thomas More, their loss dropped their record down to 0-9.
St. Thomas More might still be hurting after the 27-0 defeat they got from Monticello when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Can the Sabers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
