Blue Ridge was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They fell just short of the Armstrong Trojans by a score of 9-8. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Blue Ridge of the 8-0 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in March of 2023.
Ellie Schlieper was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 14 batters over 8.1 innings while giving up five earned (and five unearned) runs off 13 hits. Schlieper was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with two RBI.
In other batting news, Cassie Zimmerman made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-5 with two triples, three RBI, and a stolen base. Another player making a difference was Addison Roos, who scored three runs while going 2-for-4.
Even though they lost, Blue Ridge didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 14 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Like Blue Ridge, Armstrong also got a great game from a two-way player: Acasia Gernentz. On the mound, Gernentz struck out eight batters over 4.2 innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Meanwhile, Tinley Parkerson pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits (she also didn't allow any walks). At bat, Gernentz scored two runs while getting on base in two of her five plate appearances, while Parkerson went 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kaylyn Hayes, who went 4-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. The team also got some help courtesy of Makenna Ackerman, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
Blue Ridge's loss dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Armstrong, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 3-0.
Blue Ridge will be playing at home against Oakwood at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. As for Armstrong, they will head out on the road to take on Westville at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
