The Roncalli Royals have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the North Central Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Roncalli is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: New Palestine, who was ranked third in their home state at the time (Roncalli was ranked tenth). Roncalli walked away with a 5-1 victory over New Palestine on Wednesday.
Avery Clark spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on one hit. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in eight consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Bennie Leffler was incredible, going 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Emma Fegan, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, North Central earned a 5-2 win over Living Water Homeschool on Wednesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for North Central.
North Central also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Lorelei Hewlate gave up just two earned runs on six hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Ryleigh Reiblich, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Kennady Johnson was another key contributor, going 1-for-3 with a triple and a run.
Roncalli pushed their record up to 16-1 with that victory, which was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season. As for North Central, the win got them back to even at 7-7.
Friday's contest will be a test for both team's pitchers. Roncalli hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .356. However, it's not like North Central struggles in that department as they've averaged .343. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Roncalli's way against North Central in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 as Roncalli made off with a 10-0 victory. Does Roncalli have another victory up their sleeve, or will North Central turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
