The Jacksonville Cardinals will take on the New Bern Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
South Central hit Jacksonville with a seven-run sixth inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Cardinals lost 12-2 to the Falcons. The Cardinals have struggled against the Falcons recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive lost meeting.
New Bern's found some homefield redemption this week after a overtime loss to D.H. Conley on Monday. The Bears' pitcher stepped up to hand Croatan a 10-0 shutout. Considering the Bears have won nine matchups by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Molly McGuire made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over six innings pitched. McGuire was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that she has hit this season.
In other batting news, Makenzie Richardson was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. Those two doubles gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Bella Colon, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
New Bern pushed their record up to 17-4 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.5 runs over those games. As for Jacksonville, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-12.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Jacksonville has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like New Bern struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Jacksonville suffered a grim 9-1 defeat to New Bern when the teams last played back in March. Will the Cardinals have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
