The Emerald Vikings will head out to challenge the Fountain Inn Fury at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Emerald is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Southside 20-0 on Wednesday. The win continues a trend for the Vikings in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won eight in a row.
Eli Swancey
| 04/09/25 vs Southside | 3 |
| 03/11/25 vs Ninety Six | 3 |
| 04/09/25 vs Southside | 2 |
| 03/22/25 @ Andrews | 2 |
| 03/22/25 @ Georgetown | 1 |
| + 2 more games |
Eli Swancey and Beau Hite were a major factor no matter where they played. Throwing, Swancey tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Hite tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. At bat, Swancey scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Hite went 1-for-2 with four RBI, one triple, and one run. Swancey has become a key player for Emerald: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-9 otherwise.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ethan Metts, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Thomas Hodges also deserves some recognition as he scored his first runs of the season.
Emerald always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .778. The last time their OBP was this high was was before the start of last season.
Meanwhile, Fountain Inn came tearing into Friday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Raiders, sneaking past 5-3.
Luke Tanner looked comfortable as he pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Carter Kelly and Joel Irizarry did most of the damage at the plate: Kelly scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Irizarry went 1-for-3 with one triple and two RBI. That's the most RBI Irizarry has posted since back in March.
Fountain Inn pushed their record up to 17-3 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Emerald, their record now sits at 7-9.
