The Pinconning Spartans will challenge the Clare Pioneers at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Pinconning had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 12-run drubbing they dealt Beaverton on Thursday. The Spartans blew past the Beavers 13-1. With that victory, the Spartans brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Ella Hunter was a major factor no matter where she played. She struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Those seven strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-5 with one home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, Laken Gibala and Elley Shoultes did most of the damage at the plate: Gibala went 3-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs, while Shoultes went 4-for-5 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double. Those two stolen bases gave Gibala a new career-high. Layla Foco was another key player, going 1-for-5 with four RBI, one triple, and one run.
Pinconning was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .378. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .300 or higher in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Clare waltzed into their contest on Saturday with ten straight wins... but they left with 11. They put the hurt on the Sentinels with a sharp 15-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Pioneers, who have now won 16 matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Pinconning's victory bumped their record up to 7-8. As for Clare, their win bumped their record up to 18-1.
Pinconning came out on top in a nail-biter against Clare in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 5-3. Will the Spartans repeat their success, or do the Pioneers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
