The Sacred Heart-Griffin Cyclones will square off against the Gillespie Miners at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Sacred Heart-Griffin comes in on six and Gillespie on three.
Sacred Heart-Griffin barely beat Jacksonville the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Cyclones' pitcher stepped up to hand the Crimsons a 6-0 shutout on Tuesday.
Kenzie Wieland
| 05/06/25 @ Jacksonville | 16 |
| 04/28/25 @ Tri-City | 13 |
| 04/23/25 vs Springfield | 18 |
| 04/22/25 @ Rochester | 11 |
| 04/17/25 @ Springfield | 19 |
| + 7 more games |
Kenzie Wieland made a splash while hitting and pitching. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 16 over 6.2 innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than ten strikeouts in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, McKenna Norris was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in May of 2024. Claire Klinner also deserves some recognition as she got her first hit of the season.
Staunton typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday Gillespie proved too difficult a challenge. They had just enough and edged out the Bulldogs 9-7. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Miners have posted since May 22, 2024.
Like Sacred Heart-Griffin, Gillespie also got a great game from a two-way player: Sadie Sholtis. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and five unearned) runs off nine hits (and not a single walk). Sholtis was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Gillian Smith was a standout: she went 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Ava Rakers, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs.
Sacred Heart-Griffin pushed their record up to 11-7 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Gillespie, their record now sits at 17-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Sacred Heart-Griffin hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Gillespie struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Sacred Heart-Griffin might still be hurting after the 16-0 loss they got from Gillespie in their previous matchup back in May of 2023. Can the Cyclones avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
