Softball Preview: Northwest Cabarrus Trojans vs. West Rowan Falcons
Northwest Cabarrus is 0-10 against West Rowan since March of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Northwest Cabarrus Trojans will be playing at home against the West Rowan Falcons at 5:30 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Northwest Cabarrus entered their tilt with Robinson with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They had just enough and edged the Bulldogs out 3-2. That's two games straight that Northwest Cabarrus has won by just one run.
Haylee Ellis spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on six hits and racked up 13 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Northwest Cabarrus' victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Madison Strickland, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, West Rowan scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 20-5 margin over Concord. Considering West Rowan has won seven matches by more than eight runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Emma Clarke, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with a home run, two stolen bases, and five RBI. Kayla Burns was another key contributor, going 2-for-2 with four RBI and a run.
Northwest Cabarrus pushed their record up to 8-5 with that win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.3 runs per game. As for West Rowan, they have been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Northwest Cabarrus has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like West Rowan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Northwest Cabarrus might still be hurting after the 10-0 defeat they got from West Rowan in their previous matchup back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of West Rowan's Arabelle Shulenburger, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Now that Northwest Cabarrus 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
