It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Hackleburg had no problem doing just that on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Waterloo Cougars 5-3. That's two games straight that Hackleburg has won by exactly two runs.
Laine Steward made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over seven innings pitched. Steward has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 13 consecutive pitching appearances. Steward was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two RBI and a double.
In other batting news, Ellie Nichols was excellent, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2. Braylynn Pope was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
Hackleburg has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 34-15-2 record this season. As for Waterloo, their defeat dropped their record down to 34-9-1.
Hackleburg didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next game, a 4-3 loss vs. Leroy on the 15th. Waterloo does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
