The Carmel Greyhounds will challenge the Terre Haute North Vigo Patriots at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Carmel has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Terre Haute North Vigo will arrive with five straight victories.
Carmel fell victim to Fishers and their airtight pitching crew on Monday. They came up short against the Tigers, falling 12-0. The contest marked the first time this year in which the Greyhounds were not able to get on the board.
Meanwhile, Terre Haute North Vigo hadn't done well against Sullivan recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Patriots put the hurt on the Golden Arrows with a sharp 14-2 win. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won ten matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Kyleigh Walker was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off six hits. Walker was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
In other batting news, Terre Haute North Vigo got a massive performance out of Madi Strange, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most hits Strange has posted over her last 11 games. Kenzie Zigler was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three doubles, two runs, and one stolen base.
Terre Haute North Vigo kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in ten consecutive contests.
Terre Haute North Vigo's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 19-5. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.7 runs over those games. As for Carmel, their loss dropped their record down to 5-16.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Carmel hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Terre Haute North Vigo struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
