The DuBois Central Catholic Cardinals will be staying on the road on Thursday to face off against the Carmichaels Mighty Mikes. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
DuBois Central Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. They had just enough and edged Old Forge out 2-1.
Rylee Kulbatsky spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in eight consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Lily Davidson, who went 3-for-3 with a triple, a run, and an RBI. Another player making a difference was Lauren Davidson, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, Carmichaels faced Chartiers-Houston in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Monday. Carmichaels won by a run and slipped past Chartiers-Houston 5-4. Winning may never get old, but Carmichaels sure is getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Carmichaels also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Bailey Barnyak gave up four earned runs on seven hits.
At the plate, Carmichaels saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Carys McConnell, who went 1-for-3 with a triple, a stolen base, and an RBI.
DuBois Central Catholic is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 16 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 22-2 record this season. As for Carmichaels, their victory was their ninth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. DuBois Central Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Carmichaels struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
DuBois Central Catholic might still be hurting after the 7-0 defeat they got from Carmichaels when the teams last played back in June of 2023. Can DuBois Central Catholic 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
