Softball Preview: Loretto Mustangs vs. Zion Christian Academy Eagles
The Loretto Mustangs will be playing in front of their home fans against the Zion Christian Academy Eagles at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Loretto: 3.5, Zion Christian Academy: 2.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Loretto is hoping to deliver their fans another blowout on Friday, just like they did against Collinwood (and have done all season long). Everything went Loretto's way against Collinwood on Thursday as Loretto made off with a 10-1 victory.
Emily Cozart spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on six hits and racked up eight Ks. Those eight strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.
At the plate, Aubrey Ezell was incredible, going 4-for-5 with a home run, six RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Jenny Clifton, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Zion Christian Academy came tearing into Thursday's matchup with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.8 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They never let the Vikings onto the board and left with a 1-0 win.
Perry County's batters probably weren't too happy with Ashleia Coble, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 14 Ks (she gave up two walks). Coble has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Zion Christian Academy's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Claire Boyd, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Loretto now has a winning record of 7-6. As for Zion Christian Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 14 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 26-6 record this season.
Loretto might still be hurting after the 10-0 loss they got from Zion Christian Academy when the teams last played back in April. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Coble, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Now that Loretto 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
