The Evangel Christian Lightning are taking a road trip to face off against the Coosa Valley Academy Rebels at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Evangel Christian has 14 straight victories, Coosa Valley Academy has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Thursday, Evangel Christian made easy work of Ezekiel Academy and carried off a 14-4 win. Considering the Lightning have won 13 contests by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
ZAC GROSSMANN was a standout: he scored two runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-2. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March. TREY HOPE was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2.
Evangel Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .583. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ezekiel Academy only posted an OBP of .310.
Meanwhile, Coosa Valley Academy came up short against Lowndes Academy on Tuesday, falling 14-2.
Brett Hackett was cooking despite his team's loss, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and two RBI. Coosa Valley Academy is 2-1 when Hackett posts one or more home runs, but 11-17 otherwise.
Evangel Christian pushed their record up to 23-1 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.4 runs over those games. As for Coosa Valley Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 13-18.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Evangel Christian has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Coosa Valley Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Evangel Christian beat Coosa Valley Academy 8-3 in their previous matchup back in March. Do the Lightning have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rebels turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
