Lake Wales hasn't had much luck against Lake Region recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Highlanders are taking a road trip to take on the Thunder at 7:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Lake Wales is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They blew past Rockledge 8-2.
Anna Conroy spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on three hits and racked up 12 Ks. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 5.1 strikeouts per game.
On the hitting side, Lake Wales let Mattie Cockrell and Keira Davis run wild. Cockrell got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run and two RBI, while Davis went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Lake Region came tearing into Wednesday's contest with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Barracudas a 10-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Thunder, who have now won 15 matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Makenna Meadows was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one triple and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kirsten Aldridge, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Sophia Rivera also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Lake Region hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in six consecutive games.
Lake Wales has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.5 runs over those games. As for Lake Region, they pushed their record up to 25-3 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home.
Lake Wales couldn't quite get it done against Lake Region in their previous matchup last Thursday as they fell 4-1. Can the Highlanders avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
