Softball Preview: St. Stephens Indians vs. Foard Tigers
The St. Stephens Indians will be playing in front of their home fans against the Foard Tigers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. St. Stephens is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.1 runs per game this season.
St. Stephens took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Monday. They were the clear victor by a 16-1 margin over Statesville. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for St. Stephens considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Anicka McFarland was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 11 over four innings pitched. McFarland has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in seven consecutive pitching appearances. McFarland was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-2 with six RBI, a triple, and a run.
In other batting news, Kayla Berry was a standout: she scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Kallie Canipe was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Foard's good fortune finally ran out on Monday. They fell just short of North Iredell by a score of 10-9.
Like St. Stephens, Foard also got a great game from a two-way player: Karsyn Sigmon. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and eight unearned) runs off 11 hits. Sigmon was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Riley Vogel made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with three runs, two doubles, and a triple. Another player making a difference was Alexis Stuebe, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, a triple, and a run.
St. Stephens has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 8-11 record this season. As for Foard, their defeat ended a nine-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 11-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Stephens has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Foard struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Stephens might still be hurting after the 13-1 loss they got from Foard in their previous meeting on April 9th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Sigmon, who kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Now that St. Stephens 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
