Softball Preview: Elba Tigers vs. Pike County Bulldogs
Elba has enjoyed the comforts of home their last four games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will challenge the Pike County Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Elba's favor is that they have posted big run totals every time they've taken the field this season.
Elba stacked a sixth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 12-2 margin over Pleasant Home. 12 seems to be a good number for Elba as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Ayrika Caldwell made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. Caldwell has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts every time she's pitched this season. Caldwell was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two triples, a run, and an RBI.
In other batting news, Destinee Tidwell and A'Lyric Whitfield did most of the damage at the plate: Tidwell scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Whitfield scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in two of her three plate appearances. Whitfield has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played. Lady Stinson was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-1.
Meanwhile, Pike County was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their sixth straight loss. They wound up on the wrong side of a tough 14-3 walloping at the hands of Straughn.
Elba's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-0. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.3 runs per game. As for Pike County, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-12.
Elba took their victory against Pike County in their previous meeting back in March by a conclusive 15-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for Elba since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
