Pana and Hillsboro are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2016, but likely not for long. The Pana Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Hillsboro Hiltoppers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Pana's favor as the team sits on five straight wins at home while Hillsboro has been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road.
Pana will bounce into Thursday's game after beating Southwestern, who they hadn't topped in seven consecutive meetings. Pana walked away with a 10-7 victory over Southwestern on Tuesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Pana considering their one-run performance the match before.
Joey Laker made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up four earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits. Laker was even better at the plate, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and a stolen base.
In other batting news, Shelby Ashcraft and Kennedy Bowker did most of the damage at the plate: Ashcraft scored two runs while going 2-for-2, while Bowker scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Izzy Reed was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, everything went Hillsboro's way against Vandalia on Monday as Hillsboro made off with a 10-2 win.
Aubrey Evans was incredible, going 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and a stolen base. Another player making a difference was Briley Kirby, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Pana has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-7 record this season. As for Hillsboro, they now have a winning record of 11-10.
Hillsboro's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Pana has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.2 hits per game. It's a different story for Hillsboro, though, as they've been averaging 8.7. Given Pana's sizable advantage in that area, Hillsboro will need to find a way to close that gap.
Pana took their victory against Hillsboro in their previous meeting back in March by a conclusive 11-1. Will Pana repeat their success, or does Hillsboro have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
