Softball Game Preview: South Johnston Trojans vs. West Carteret Patriots

The South Johnston Trojans will challenge the West Carteret Patriots on Friday. South Johnston will be looking to extend their current 20-game winning streak.

South Johnston is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand East Wake an 11-0 shutout. The Trojans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 15 contests by six runs or more this season.

Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but West Carteret ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Croatan, sneaking past 3-2. The victory continues a trend for the Patriots in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now won three in a row.

Caitlin Dumarce spent all nine innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on one hit and racked up 17 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 15 consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Ella Grace Rodriguez was excellent, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with one run and one RBI.

South Johnston's win was their 12th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for West Carteret, their win bumped their record up to 19-4.

South Johnston was able to grind out a solid victory over West Carteret when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 5-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Trojans since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.