The Jennings County Panthers will face off against the Franklin County Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Jennings County is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Greensburg 4-3. The victory continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Pirates: they've now won five in a row.
Arian Day spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three runs (all of which were unearned) on two hits and racked up eight Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 17 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Jennings County's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ryleigh Sporleder, who went 2-for-3 with one double.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, Franklin County made sure to put some runs up on the board against South Dearborn on Tuesday. The Wildcats blew past the Knights 16-1. Considering the Wildcats have won eight contests by more than nine runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Jillian Harris made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Harris was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, Brooke Stang was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Another player making a difference was Tiffany Billman, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Franklin County was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .485. They are 9-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Franklin County now has a winning record of 12-11. As for Jennings County, their record is now 15-11.
Thursday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Jennings County hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .328. However, it's not like Franklin County struggles in that department as they've averaged .392. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Jennings County couldn't quite finish off Franklin County in their previous matchup back in April and fell 4-2. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
