(Atlantic) Atlantic (27-13) will host Centerville (17-10) tonight in the Regional Semifinals. The Trojans punched their ticket with a 10-2 win over Harlan on Thursday, while the Big Reds advanced by defeating Clarinda 13-9.
Centerville, a member of the South-Central Conference, finished tied for third with Davis County, both posting 8-6 conference records, just behind Chariton and Albia.
Kaylee Davis and Adriana Howard share the pitching duties for the Big Reds. In regular season play through 25 games, Davis is 9-5 on the season in 88.1 innings pitched with an E.R.A. of 3.09, allowing opponents a .236 batting average with 85 strikeouts, 20 walks, and two hit batters. Adriana Howard is 7-4 in 73.1 innings of work, allowing teams a .244 batting average, a 4.10 ERA, with 38 strikeouts, eight walks, and five hit batters.
In comparison, the Trojans have two solid pitchers in Peyton McLaren and Zoey Kirchhoff. McLaren, 16-5, sports a 1.57 E.R.A., with 84 strikeouts, 14 walks, and four hit batters, allowing teams a batting average of .194. Kirchhoff is 9-8 on the season, allowing hitters a .235 batting average, 71 strikeouts, 34 walks, and two hit batters.
Atlantic Head Coach Terry Hinzmann shared his thoughts on how Centerville compares to the Trojans.
Atlantic enters the game with a team batting average of .338, led by Lila Wiederstein at .470, followed by Dylin Ball (.395), Makenna Schroeder (.386), and Zoey Kirchhoff (.384). Centerville comes in hitting .308 as a team, with Payton Hoffman (.407) and Matty Kovacevich (.392) leading the way.
Coach Hinzmann says the Trojans are focused on playing tight, mistake-free defense.
Coach Hinzmann says he’s confident in his team’s ability to perform well in all aspects of the game.
Hinzmann says the outcome will likely come down to which team makes the fewest mistakes and does a better job of putting the ball in play.
The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the Regional Final against either Albia or Davis County. Albia enters with a 26-3 record, while Davis County sits at 17-10. Albia defeated their South Central Conference rival twice during the regular season, 5-0 and 6-0.
Coverage begins with the pre-game show at 6:30 p.m. on 95.7 FM and streaming live at westerniowatoday.com. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.
