Softball Preview: Grace Christian Academy Crusaders vs. Gardner-South Wilmington Panthers
Grace Christian Academy has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will challenge the Gardner-South Wilmington Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
If Grace Christian Academy beats Gardner-South Wilmington with five runs on Friday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. Grace Christian Academy's pitcher stepped up to hand Illinois Lutheran a 5-0 shutout on Tuesday. That looming 5-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Grace Christian Academy yet this season.
Natalie Dalton made a big impact no matter where she played. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 17 over seven innings pitched. Dalton has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Dalton was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing three bases while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Liz Kibbons, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI and a double. Another player making a difference was Angelina Larsen, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Gardner-South Wilmington put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They put the hurt on Grant Park with a sharp 17-0 win. With that victory, Gardner-South Wilmington brought their scoring average up to 6.5 runs per game.
Like Grace Christian Academy, Gardner-South Wilmington also got a great game from a two-way player: Maddie Simms. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched. Simms was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Gardner-South Wilmington let Jo Male and Nina Siano loose on the outfield. Male scored three runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2, while Siano scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Makaila McDaniel, who scored three runs while going 1-for-3.
Grace Christian Academy's record now sits at 4-9. As for Gardner-South Wilmington, their win ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 9-11.
Grace Christian Academy suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Gardner-South Wilmington when the teams last played back in April. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Simms, who kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 18 over seven innings pitched. Now that Grace Christian Academy knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
