Baseball Preview: Cornerstone Christian Eagles vs. Clay County Christian Academy Eagles
Cornerstone Christian is 3-0 against Clay County Christian Academy since March of 2021, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Cornerstone Christian Eagles will be playing in front of their home fans against the Clay County Christian Academy Eagles at 4:00 p.m. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (Cornerstone Christian: 3.8, Clay County Christian Academy: 3.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Cornerstone Christian is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Heritage Christian just ended the team's seven-game winning streak on Friday. They fell victim to a tough 8-2 defeat at the hands of the Angels. Cornerstone Christian was red-hot at the plate headed into the matchup (they scored no less than ten runs in the four matches prior) but Heritage Christian's pitchers proved too tough.
Gage Donaldson put in work while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Donaldson was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with a stolen base and a double.
In other batting news, J.R. Monroe was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base and two RBI. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times he's played.
Even though they lost, Cornerstone Christian didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 14 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Clay County Christian Academy put the finishing touches on their sixth blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. They never let Marshall Christian Academy onto the board and left with an 11-0 win. The victory was nothing new for Clay County Christian Academy as they're now sitting on five straight.
Like Cornerstone Christian, Clay County Christian Academy also got a great game from a two-way player: Ridge Waldrep. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over four innings pitched. Waldrep was also big at the plate, scoring three runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Skylar Dewberry was excellent, scoring two runs while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Having lost for the first time this season, Cornerstone Christian fell to 7-1. As for Clay County Christian Academy, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-1.
Thursday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Cornerstone Christian has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .547. However, it's not like Clay County Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've averaged .487. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Cornerstone Christian's way against Clay County Christian Academy when the teams last played back in March of 2023 as Cornerstone Christian made off with a 13-2 victory. Does Cornerstone Christian have another victory up their sleeve, or will Clay County Christian Academy turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
