Softball Preview: Eastern Wayne Warriors vs. Wayne Christian Eagles
The Eastern Wayne Warriors will be playing in front of their home fans against the Wayne Christian Eagles at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (Eastern Wayne: 1.4, Wayne Christian: 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
After soaring to a nine-point win in their last game, Eastern Wayne came back down to earth on Wednesday. They fell just short of North Johnston by a score of 3-1. Eastern Wayne has not had much luck with North Johnston recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Mallory Reed spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on five hits and racked up 17 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts every time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Eastern Wayne saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lyric Kornegay, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles.
Even though they lost, Eastern Wayne was hitting in the alleys and finished the game with three doubles. That's the most doubles they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Wayne Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over SouthWest Edgecombe on Friday, taking the game 7-2. The win was just what Wayne Christian needed coming off of a 17-7 defeat in their prior matchup.
Riley Sutton was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Sutton was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and a double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ella Fox, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was A.J. Verme, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Eastern Wayne's loss dropped their record down to 5-4. As for Wayne Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 10-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Eastern Wayne has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Wayne Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.5. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Eastern Wayne couldn't quite finish off Wayne Christian when the teams last played back in March and fell 2-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Sutton, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 14 over seven innings pitched. Now that Eastern Wayne 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
