The Topsail Pirates will head out on the road to take on the Laney Buccaneers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Topsail's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Ashley with a sharp 10-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for Topsail.
Kennedy Sloan made a splash while hitting and pitching. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Sloan has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in 12 consecutive pitching appearances. Sloan was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs.
In other batting news, Rhianna Garmendiz was excellent, scoring two runs while going 2-for-2. Addie Macdougall was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Laney came tearing into Tuesday's game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.6 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victor by a 16-0 margin over the Wildcats. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest win Laney has managed all season.
The team relied heavily on Bailey Bettencourt, who went 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Taylor Lee, who went 1-for-2 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.
Topsail's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-4. As for Laney, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 13 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-2 record this season.
Both the pair just can't seem to miss. Topsail has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.8 hits per game. However, it's not like Laney struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.1. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Topsail was able to grind out a solid win over Laney in their previous matchup back in April, winning 4-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Topsail since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
