Kaplan has won 16 straight games at home, while Berwick has won 16 straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Monday. The Pirates will host the Panthers at 4:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Berwick's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Monday: Kaplan hadn't allowed a single run the last three times they've hit the field. The Pirates never let Northside Christian get on the board and left with a 15-0 victory on Monday. The Pirates haven't had any issues with the Warriors recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Berwick had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They put the hurt on the Bears with a sharp 12-4 victory. That's two games straight that the Panthers have won by exactly eight runs.
Madison Diboll made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over three innings while giving up just two earned runs but no hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two hits in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Makinzie Macaluso, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Azyria Garrison was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Berwick was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .452. They are 11-3 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Berwick is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-16 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for Kaplan, their victory bumped their record up to 31-1.
Everything went Kaplan's way against Berwick in their previous meeting back in March of 2019, as Kaplan made off with a 15-0 win. Will the Pirates repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
