Softball Game Preview: Abbeville Panthers vs. Thornwell Saints

The Abbeville Panthers will venture away from home to face off against the Thornwell Saints at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Abbeville will be strutting in after a win while Thornwell will be coming in after a loss.

Abbeville is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Calhoun Falls Charter with a sharp 27-0 victory on Tuesday. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Blue Flashes recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Ware Shoals hit Thornwell with a ten-run sixth inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Saints lost 12-6 to the Hornets. The defeat continues a trend for the Saints in their meetings with the Hornets: they've now lost four in a row.

Camden Nelson was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and nine unearned) runs off eight hits. Nelson was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.

In other batting news, Madi Porter was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double. Another player making a difference was Karleigh Porter, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.

Abbeville's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-8. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Thornwell, their loss dropped their record down to 7-7.

Abbeville took their victory against Thornwell in their previous matchup back in March by a conclusive 12-2 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.