Preview: Athens Drive Jaguars vs. Broughton Capitals
The Athens Drive Jaguars will head out on the road to square off against the Broughton Capitals at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Athens Drive is looking to tack on another W to their three-game streak on the road.
After only one run in their last contest, Athens Drive made sure to put some runs up on the board against East Chapel Hill on Wednesday. Athens Drive blew past East Chapel Hill 12-2. That looming 12-2 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Athens Drive yet this season.
Athens Drive got a great performance from Elliott Essic as he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off six hits (and only one walk). Essic has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks every time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Athens Drive let Troy Daniels and Nathan Bunch loose on the outfield. Daniels went 3-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and a triple, while Bunch scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Hansel Diaz, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Broughton was able to grind out a solid victory over Fuquay - Varina on Wednesday, taking the game 7-2. The win made it back-to-back victories for Broughton.
Broughton also got a great performance from Mason Hawkins as he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Matthew Vannoy and Patrick Maloney did most of the damage at the plate: Vannoy got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, while Maloney got on base in all four of his plate appearances with a double.
Athens Drive's record now sits at 6-3-1. As for Broughton, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.
Athens Drive came up short against Broughton in their previous meeting on Monday, falling 5-1. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Broughton's Sam Harris, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out six over five innings pitched. Now that Athens Drive knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
