West Branch is on a six-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Curwensville is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Warriors will host the Golden Tide at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
West Branch's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Williamsburg 17-0. The Warriors haven't had any issues with the Blue Pirates recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Isabella Nelson was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Nelson was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Those two hits gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, West Branch got a massive performance out of Lindsey Bainey, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs and three RBI. Another player making a difference was Layla Thompson, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
West Branch always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .676. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Curwensville hadn't done well against Mount Union recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. The Golden Tide were the clear victors by a 13-3 margin over the Trojans.
Like West Branch, Curwensville also got a great game from a two-way player: Kylah Wos. She tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off one hit. Wos was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played.
In other batting news, Briah Peoples was excellent, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Ava Hainsey was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.
Curwensville's victory bumped their record up to 9-5. As for West Branch, their win bumped their record up to 11-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. West Branch hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Curwensville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
West Branch was able to grind out a solid victory over Curwensville when the teams last played back in April, winning 3-0. Do the Warriors have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Golden Tide turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
