Softball Preview: St. John's Islanders vs. Lowcountry Leadership NaviGators
St. John is 0-10 against Lowcountry Leadership since March of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The St. John's Islanders will head out on the road to challenge the Lowcountry Leadership NaviGators at 5:30 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
St. John's is headed into the game fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Cross with a sharp 19-2 win on Tuesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for St. John's considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Kennedy Moore made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she tossed three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Moore has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Moore was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lelah Anderson, who went 2-for-2 with a home run, three stolen bases, and five RBI. Sanaa Rhoades was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and a triple.
Meanwhile, Lowcountry Leadership entered their tilt with Baptist Hill with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They never let the Bobcats onto the board and left with a 21-0 victory on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for Lowcountry Leadership, who have now won six matchups by 11 runs or more so far this season.
Like St. John's, Lowcountry Leadership also got a great game from a two-way player: Nicole Galloway. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Galloway was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
In other batting news, Emma Postell was incredible, going 3-for-3 with a home run, six RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Laylee Chesser, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3.
St. John's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 1-5. As for Lowcountry Leadership, they pushed their record up to 7-1 with that victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. St. John's has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Lowcountry Leadership struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.5. The only question left is which team can snag more.
St. John's suffered a grim 17-0 defeat to Lowcountry Leadership in their previous matchup back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Galloway, who struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). Now that St. John's knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
