Softball Preview: Southern Durham Spartans vs. East Chapel Hill Wildcats
Southern Durham is 1-6 against East Chapel Hill since March of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Southern Durham Spartans are on the road again to play the East Chapel Hill Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Tuesday, Southern Durham made easy work of Granville Central and carried off an 18-9 win.
Jasmyn Wilson was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off three hits. Wilson has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Wilson was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Anaiah Bailey, who scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of her six plate appearances. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last four games she's played. Iyanna Scales was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, East Chapel Hill had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.3 runs), and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They walked away with a 13-10 victory over the Tigers.
East Chapel Hill let Zaiah Freeman and Lauren Steiner loose on the outfield. Freeman got on base in all five of her plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and a double, while Steiner went 2-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Another player making a difference was Esha Kamath, who went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a double.
Southern Durham's win bumped their record up to 5-9. As for East Chapel Hill, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a massive bump to their 8-5 record this season.
Wednesday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Southern Durham has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .487. However, it's not like East Chapel Hill struggles in that department as they've averaged .550. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Southern Durham's way against East Chapel Hill in their previous matchup back in April of 2022 as Southern Durham made off with a 14-4 victory. Will Southern Durham repeat their success, or does East Chapel Hill have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
