Softball Preview: Fort White Indians vs. Branford Buccaneers
The Fort White Indians will take on the Branford Buccaneers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Fort White: 2.3, Branford: 2.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Fort White is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They came out on top against Madison County by a score of 5-1.
Kadence Compton made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out 14 over seven innings pitched. Compton has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive pitching appearances. Compton was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Compton wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Morgan Kelly, who went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Another player making a difference was N'Coreyia Atkins, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Branford ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They had just enough and edged Aucilla Christian out 4-3. The win was nothing new for Branford as they're now sitting on six straight.
Laila Arnold spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on four hits and racked up six Ks.
On the hitting side, Madyson Sikes was excellent, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Cloey Criggall, who went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Fort White is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season. As for Branford, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Fort White has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Branford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Fort White couldn't quite finish off Branford when the teams last played last Thursday and fell 3-1. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Arnold, who struck out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). Now that Fort White 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
