Granville Central is 0-10 against J.F. Webb since April of 2017 but things could change on Friday. The Panthers will square off against the Warriors at 5:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Granville Central came out on top against Durham School of the Arts on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive eight-run first inning. The Panthers blew past the Bulldogs 15-5. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Panthers' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Natalya Lewis made a splash no matter where she played. She pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Granville Central got a big performance out of Christina Cappucio, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. That stolen base was Cappucio's first of the season. Another player making a difference was Myra Travis, who got on base in two of her four plate appearances with three stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, J.F. Webb had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Wednesday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 4-3 W against the Eagles.
Like Granville Central, J.F. Webb also got a great game from a two-way player: Terrie Thornton. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off eight hits (and only one walk). Thornton was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Alivia Webb, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Granville Central is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 3-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for J.F. Webb, they pushed their record up to 10-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road.
Granville Central might still be hurting after the 6-0 loss they got from J.F. Webb in their previous matchup on Tuesday. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
