The Cheverus Stags will venture away from home to face off against the Westbrook Blue Blazes at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Cheverus is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Cheverus is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Maine's top teams: Kennebunk, who was ranked 20th at the time (Cheverus was ranked third). The Stags were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over the Rams on Wednesday. Considering the Stags have won eight games by more than nine runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Addison DeRoche made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 15 over six innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Hailey Lamontagne, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Cheverus hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least four batters in four consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 11 runs the game before, Westbrook was a bit more limited in their contest on Wednesday. They came up short against Gorham, falling 10-0. The game marked the first time this season in which the Blue Blazes were not able to get on the board.
Westbrook saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Emma Boulette, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one double.
Cheverus' win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-0. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.6 runs over those games. As for Westbrook, with the defeat, they broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 7-4.
Westbrook's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Cheverus has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.7 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Westbrook, though, as they've been averaging only 3 strikeouts. Will Cheverus keep running through batters, or will the Blue Blazes buck the trend?
Everything went Cheverus' way against Westbrook in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as Cheverus made off with an 18-3 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Stags since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
