Softball Preview: Trinity Christian Trojans vs. John Paul II Cardinals
Trinity Christian is 0-10 against John Paul II since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Trinity Christian Trojans will look to defend their home field against the John Paul II Cardinals at 5:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Trinity Christian's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Nolan Catholic as Trinity Christian made off with a 10-0 victory. That's two games straight that Trinity Christian has won by exactly ten runs.
Avery Booker made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out 14 over six innings pitched. Booker has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances. Booker was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Ann Marie Martinez was incredible, going 3-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI. Ella Stewart was another key contributor, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, John Paul II had already won 12 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.8 runs), and they went ahead and made it 13 on Monday. They blew past the Lions 15-0.
The team relied heavily on Izzy Weber, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, six RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Abby McGraw, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs.
Trinity Christian is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 4-6 record this season. As for John Paul II, they pushed their record up to 29-2 with that win, which was their seventh straight at home.
Thursday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Trinity Christian has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .453. However, it's not like John Paul II struggles in that department as they've averaged .521. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Trinity Christian might still be hurting after the 16-1 defeat they got from John Paul II in their previous matchup back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of John Paul II's Carly Holman, who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. Now that Trinity Christian 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
