The Walled Lake Central Vikings will challenge the Grand Blanc Bobcats at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Walled Lake Central has struggled recently with six losses in a row, while Grand Blanc will arrive with seven straight victories.
Escanaba hit Walled Lake Central with a eight-run fourth inning on Saturday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Vikings lost 11-1 to the Eskymos.
Walled Lake Central saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Leyla Wilk, who went 1-for-2 with one run.
Meanwhile, Grand Blanc's rock-solid pitcher showed up for the team's sixth consecutive shutout on Saturday. They never let Warren Sterling United [Mott/Cousino/Sterling Heights] get on the board and left with a 15-0 win. The Bobcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 18 contests by seven runs or more this season.
Savannah Schultz made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 11 over four innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 16 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with four RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Alaina Trotter was a standout: she went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and one double. Those three runs gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kate Mitchell, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs.
Grand Blanc kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in four consecutive games.
Grand Blanc pushed their record up to 24-3 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for Walled Lake Central, they now have a losing record of 11-12.
Saturday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Walled Lake Central hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .331. However, it's not like Grand Blanc struggles in that department as they've averaged .396. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
