The Darlington Falcons will square off against the Marlboro County Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Darlington has five straight wins, Marlboro County has seven straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Darlington is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 20-4 margin over Crestwood on Friday. The Falcons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by six runs or more this season.
Carly Gainey was a standout: she scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Kee Key Bacote, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5.
Gainey wasn't the only one making solid contact: Darlington kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That's a new trend for the Falcons: they were averaging 5.5 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 games they've averaged 8.8.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Marlboro County's offense. They lost 8-0 to Loris on Friday.
Abby Quick spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and four unearned) runs on eight hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Marlboro County saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Addison Skipper, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles.
Darlington pushed their record up to 11-5 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Marlboro County, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-12.
Marlboro County's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Darlington has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .452. It's a different story for Marlboro County, though, as they've only averaged .336. Will they be able to contain Darlington's hitters?
Darlington skirted past Marlboro County 5-4 when the teams last played on Wednesday. Do the Falcons have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bulldogs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
