The NorthWood Panthers will be playing at home against the South Bend Riley Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
NorthWood came into Tuesday's matchup having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They walked away with a 4-1 victory over South Bend Adams on Tuesday.
NorthWood saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Leah Rowe, who went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI. Rowe has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times she's played.
Meanwhile, South Bend Riley put another one in the bag on Wednesday to keep their perfect season alive. Their pitcher stepped up to hand South Bend Washington a 19-0 shutout. Fans of South Bend Riley have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout.
ELLIANA GONZALES made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 13 over five innings pitched. GONZALES was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with a triple and two RBI.
In other batting news, CHLOE WHITMER was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances. Another player making a difference was LUCY FRANKO, who scored two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
NorthWood's win bumped their record up to 2-3. As for South Bend Riley, they pushed their record up to 6-0 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. NorthWood has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like South Bend Riley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.7. The only question left is which team can snag more.
NorthWood suffered a grim 14-4 defeat to South Bend Riley in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Can NorthWood avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps