The Franklin Central Purple Devils will square off against the Cherry Valley-Springfield Patriots at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Franklin Central is headed into Wednesday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fourth straight game dating back to last season on Friday. They lost 35-20 to Morris Central. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Wednesday (12), the Purple Devils still had to take the loss.
Franklin Central got a massive performance out of Aubrey Post, who scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Katie Sanford, who scored three runs while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, while Cherry Valley-Springfield put up plenty of runs last Monday, the same can't be said for Franklin Central. The Patriots were the clear victors by a 24-0 margin over the Purple Devils. The Patriots haven't had any issues with the Purple Devils recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Bailey Thayer made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Those eight strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Cherry Valley-Springfield let Lexi Dygert and Ava Jump run wild. Dygert went 2-for-5 with three runs, four RBI, and one stolen base, while Jump went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Those two hits gave Jump a new career-high. Kyra Druse was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
Cherry Valley-Springfield always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .551. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Franklin Central only posted an OBP of .083.
Franklin Central's defeat dropped their record down to 0-3. As for Cherry Valley-Springfield, their record now sits at 2-0.
Franklin Central suffered a grim 24-0 defeat to Cherry Valley-Springfield in their previous meeting last Monday. Can the Purple Devils avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
