Softball Preview: Westview Chargers vs. Henry County Patriots
The Westview Chargers are on the road again on Saturday to play the Henry County Patriots at 11:00 a.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, Westview sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over Ripley.
McCall Simms made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out ten over seven innings pitched. Simms has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances. Simms was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a triple, a run, and a double.
Simms wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Lakyn Rogers, who went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a double.
Meanwhile, Henry County waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They put the hurt on the Knights with a sharp 19-0 victory. Henry County might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won ten games by six runs or more this season.
Henry County got a massive performance out of Jocelyn Lee, who scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Alley French, who scored a run and stole three bases while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Westview pushed their record up to 7-4 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. As for Henry County, their victory bumped their record up to 17-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Westview has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Henry County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Westview came up short against Henry County when the teams last played on April 4th, falling 3-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Henry County's Celia Lamkin, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 15 over seven innings pitched. Now that Westview 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
