Northfield pitcher Brynn Hostettler has been a thorn in the side of Mankato West the past few seasons. She shut down the Scarlets in the 2019 Class 3A state championship game and pitched the Raiders to an 8-1 victory over No. 1-3A Mankato West on April 29.
Mankato West (13-2, 9-2) has an opportunity for payback at Northfield (14-0, 12-0) on Friday, but the Scarlets have more to worry about than just Hostettler.
Second baseman Mikaela Girard had two home runs and five RBIs in the Raiders' April 29 victory. The Scarlets' Abbi Stierlen, who surrendered three home runs among the eight Northfield hits in that game, will have to contain Girard in the rematch to give her team an opportunity to win.
Mankato West will also have to find a few more hits to come out on top this time around. Lauryn Douglas had two of the four hits on April 29 off Hostettler, who has 181 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings this season.
Friday's matchup is a makeup of a game rained out on April 10. Northfield started 1-2 this spring in its inaugural season in Class 4A but the No. 8-4A Raiders have won their last 13 games.