Softball Preview: East Central Hornets vs. Wayne County War Eagles
After three games on the road, East Central is heading back home. They will take on the Wayne County War Eagles at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Tuesday, while East Central put up some runs, the same can't be said for Gautier. East Central put the hurt on Gautier with a sharp 10-0 win.
The team relied heavily on Baleigh Tullos, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, three doubles, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Bree Phillips, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Wayne County entered their tilt with Perry Central with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. Everything went their way against the Bulldogs on Tuesday as they made off with a 10-0 victory. Wayne County's pitching crew has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a run in their last three games.
Madison Newburn made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits over five innings pitched. Newburn has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single walk in four consecutive pitching appearances. Newburn was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with three RBI and a double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Annaston Tate, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4. She is on a roll when it comes to hits, as she's now hit three or more in the last three games she's played. Olivia Sims was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
East Central's win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-3. Those good results were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.7 runs per game. As for Wayne County, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a massive bump to their 13-10 record this season.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. East Central hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Wayne County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
East Central took their victory against Wayne County in their previous meeting two weeks ago by a conclusive 7-1. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Newburn, who tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and five unearned) runs off six hits (she also didn't allow any walks). Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will East Central still be able to contain Newburn? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
