Dayton has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Huntsville Hornets at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Dayton is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.8 runs per game this season.
Dayton fell victim to Lufkin and their airtight pitching crew on Friday. Their tough 8-0 loss to the Panthers might stick with them for a while. Having soared to a lofty 14 runs in the game before, Dayton's shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
Madi Alvarado spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered six earned (and two unearned) runs on eight hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive pitching appearances.
Meanwhile, Huntsville put the finishing touches on their 11th blowout victory of the season on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 13-2 margin over Nacogdoches. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Huntsville considering their one-run performance the match before.
Rylie Hammond tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits.
At the plate, Huntsville let Chloe Sanders and Jaelynn Duke loose on the outfield. Sanders scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2, while Duke scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Kali Klawinsky, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
Dayton's defeat dropped their record down to 21-9. As for Huntsville, they are on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 25-4 record this season.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Dayton hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Huntsville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.4. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Dayton came up short against Huntsville when the teams last played back in March, falling 3-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Duke, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out ten over seven innings pitched. Now that Dayton knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps