La Porte is 0-5 against Penn since May of 2016 but things could change on Saturday. The Slicers will square off against the Kingsmen at 12:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
La Porte is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against South Bend Riley, sneaking past 3-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Slicers have posted against the Wildcats since April 29, 2015.
Mia Maxel spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on three hits.
On the hitting side, Evie Travis was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Penn had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.4 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. They blew past the Eagles 15-0. Considering the Kingsmen have won 15 matches by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Penn also got a great performance from Olivia Signorino as she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Signorino has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ava Zachary, who fired off two home runs and eight RBI while going 2-for-4. Those two home runs gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Izabella Hanna, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four runs and one triple.
The win made it two in a row for La Porte and bumps their season record up to 14-16. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 2 run in those games. As for Penn, their record now sits at 22-4.
La Porte came up short against Penn in their previous matchup back in May of 2021, falling 4-1. Can the Slicers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
