Softball Preview: New Bern Bears vs. South Central Falcons
New Bern is 2-8 against South Central since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The New Bern Bears will head out on the road to take on the South Central Falcons at 6:00 p.m. New Bern will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.
New Bern proved they can win big last Friday (they won by seven) but on Wednesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Jacksonville and snuck past 2-0.
Anna Champey was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Champey has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in six consecutive pitching appearances. Champey was also big at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI.
Champey wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Codi Mann, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, South Central came into Wednesday's game having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They were the clear victor by a 13-2 margin over J.H. Rose. Considering South Central's hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Like New Bern, South Central also got a great game from a two-way player: Hailey Mickey. She struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off six hits. Mickey was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
In other batting news, South Central got a massive performance out of Haven Roebuck, who scored four runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Lacey Spivey, who went 4-for-5 with a home run, three runs, and four RBI.
New Bern's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-2. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs per game. As for South Central, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 8-4.
New Bern came up short against South Central in their previous matchup back in March, falling 3-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of South Central's Ava Coward, who didn't allow a single earned run over seven innings pitched. Now that New Bern knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
