Softball Preview: North Johnston Panthers vs. Eastern Wayne Warriors
The North Johnston Panthers have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the Eastern Wayne Warriors at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Thursday, North Johnston made easy work of Goldsboro and carried off a 16-4 win.
Emily Scott spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on four hits.
On the hitting side, Samantha Gilantiz was incredible, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Camden Ford, who scored three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Meanwhile, while Eastern Wayne put up plenty of runs on Monday, the same can't be said for Greene Central. Eastern Wayne blew past Greene Central 13-0. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Eastern Wayne.
Mallory Reed made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 12 over four innings pitched. Reed has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts every time she's pitched this season. Reed was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Hannah Lee, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last six games she's played. Natalia Pierce was another key contributor, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
North Johnston has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a massive bump to their 10-5 record this season. As for Eastern Wayne, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. North Johnston has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Eastern Wayne struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.9. The only question left is which team can snag more.
North Johnston skirted past Eastern Wayne 3-1 in their previous meeting on April 10th. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Reed, who struck out 17 batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will North Johnston still be able to contain Reed? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
