Softball Preview: Newark Catholic Green Wave vs. Johnstown-Monroe Johnnies
Newark Catholic is 1-9 against Johnstown-Monroe since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Newark Catholic Green Wave will head out on the road to face off against the Johnstown-Monroe Johnnies at 5:00 p.m. Newark Catholic is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.7 runs per game this season.
Newark Catholic is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Granville just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Wednesday. They fell just short of the Blue Aces by a score of 11-9.
Kylie Gibson made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and got on base in all five of her plate appearances with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Mary Snider was another key contributor, going 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBI.
Even though they lost, Newark Catholic lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. This was only their first loss (out of four games) when they post two or more home runs.
Meanwhile, Johnstown-Monroe came up short against Olentangy Berlin on Saturday and fell 7-2. Johnstown-Monroe has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Johnstown-Monroe saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Aubrey Del Cecato, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Riley Stefanick, who went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Newark Catholic's record now sits at 15-8. As for Johnstown-Monroe, their record now sits at 5-15.
Johnstown-Monroe's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Newark Catholic has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.4 hits per game. It's a different story for Johnstown-Monroe, though, as they've been averaging 11.8. Given Newark Catholic's sizable advantage in that area, Johnstown-Monroe will need to find a way to close that gap.
Newark Catholic was able to grind out a solid win over Johnstown-Monroe when the teams last played back in April, winning 7-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Newark Catholic since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
