Preview: Wiregrass Kings vs. Evangel Christian Lightning
Wiregrass is 1-9 against Evangel Christian since April of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Wiregrass Kings will head out on the road to square off against the Evangel Christian Lightning at 4:30 p.m. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a seven-game winning streak alive.
Wiregrass has not done well against Ezekiel Academy recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. Wiregrass walked away with an 8-5 win over Ezekiel Academy. Despite the victory, that was the fewest points Wiregrass has scored all season.
Zach Crisler made a big impact no matter where he played. He kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Crisler was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Riley Treadaway was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Evangel Christian put the finishing touches on their eighth blowout victory of the season on Friday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Heritage Christian Academy a 12-0 shutout. That's two games straight that Evangel Christian has won by exactly 12 runs.
The team relied heavily on KC GABLES, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, five RBI, and two runs. TREY HOPE was another key contributor, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two RBI.
Wiregrass' win was their 12th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-1. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 10.8 runs. As for Evangel Christian, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-2 record this season.
Friday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Wiregrass has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .466. However, it's not like Evangel Christian struggles in that department as they've averaged .507. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Wiregrass might still be hurting after the 12-0 loss they got from Evangel Christian when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Wiregrass, Evan Bourne (who kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
