The Kelso Hilanders will head out to square off against the Montesano Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Kelso sitting on three straight victories and Montesano on four.
Kelso will bounce into Tuesday's match after beating Battle Ground, who they had gone 1-6 against in their seven prior meetings. The Hilanders walked away with a 9-6 win over the Tigers on Friday.
Paityn Mackin tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out eight over 4.1 innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Brooke Hefley was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base. That stolen base marked the first that she has snagged this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Karsyn Hall, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Meanwhile, Montesano won against Forks on Friday with ten runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Monday. The Bulldogs were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over Hoquiam. The result was nothing new for the Bulldogs, who have now won nine contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
The team relied heavily on Jaelyn Butterfield, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two doubles. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Addison Kersker, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Montesano's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-4-1. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Kelso, their record now sits at 8-4.
Kelso came up short against Montesano when the teams last played back in March of 2019, falling 10-7. Can the Hilanders avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
