Softball Preview: James Island Trojans vs. Hartsville Red Foxes
The James Island Trojans have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the Hartsville Red Foxes at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
James Island is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They walked away with a 5-2 victory over Westwood. Five seems to be a good number for James Island as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Gracie Sue Billings spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on four hits and racked up six Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Reagan Wheatley was incredible, firing off two home runs and three RBI while going 2-for-3. She is on a roll when it comes to RBI, as she's now brought in three or more in the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ellie Wohlscheid, who went 1-for-3 with a home run.
Meanwhile, Hartsville came tearing into Thursday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.3 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 victory over the Falcons.
Hartsville also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Elena Mathys gave up only one earned run on two hits.
At the plate, Hartsville saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mary Ellen Hickey, who went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
James Island has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season. As for Hartsville, their win bumped their record up to 12-6.
James Island suffered a grim 8-2 defeat to Hartsville when the teams last played back in May of 2023. Can James Island avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
