Softball Preview: Riverside-Durham Pirates vs. New Bern Bears
The Riverside-Durham Pirates will be playing in front of their home fans against the New Bern Bears at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Riverside-Durham came tearing into two weeks ago's match with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.5 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Tigers 24-7. Riverside-Durham's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Juleah Somers was a major factor no matter where she played. She pitched 3.2 innings while giving up no earned run off one hit. Somers was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring five runs while going 3-for-6.
In other batting news, Nehir Volkan was a standout: she went 5-for-6 with a home run, three stolen bases, and six RBI. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last four games she's played. Paisley Russell was another key contributor, getting on base in all six of her plate appearances with five runs, three RBI, and a triple.
Meanwhile, New Bern owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Monday. They were the clear victor by an 8-0 margin over Swansboro. Winning may never get old, but New Bern sure is getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Like Riverside-Durham, New Bern also got a great game from a two-way player: Anna Champey. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 15 over seven innings pitched. Champey was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Makenzie Richardson and Ki?mya Sutton did most of the damage at the plate: Richardson scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4, while Sutton scored a run while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Codi Mann, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Riverside-Durham pushed their record up to 7-2 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 14.3 runs. As for New Bern, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-2 record this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
