The Centennial Spartans will challenge the Ennis Lions at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. Centennial's pitching crew has only allowed 3.1 runs per game this season, so Ennis' hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Centennial fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Mansfield Legacy on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 8-5 to the Broncos. The Spartans' defeat signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Lexie Arthur made the most of her time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Mackenzie McKeon was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Ennis). They blew past Maypearl 15-6 on Tuesday. With that win, the Lions brought their scoring average up to 6.1 runs per game.
Breona Benavidez made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out 12 batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits. Those 12 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
In other batting news, Ennis got a massive performance out of Aurelia Vaughan, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Kylie Saxon, who went 1-for-5 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
The victory snapped Ennis' losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 3-5 record. As for Centennial, their loss dropped their record down to 6-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Centennial hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Ennis struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Centennial's way against Ennis when the teams last played back in February of 2017, as Centennial made off with a 14-4 win. Do the Spartans have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Lions turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
