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| 03/18/25 - Home | 13-0 W |
| 05/03/24 - Away | 15-0 W |
| 03/14/24 - Home | 15-0 W |
Grace Christian has gone a perfect 3-0 against American Leadership Academy-Johnston recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Crusaders will challenge the Patriots at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Grace Christian has three straight victories, American Leadership Academy-Johnston has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Grace Christian's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Harrells Christian Academy with a sharp 11-0 win. The result was nothing new for Grace Christian, who have now won nine matchups by seven runs or more so far this season.
Hayley Pugh and Victoria Thomas were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Pugh tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Thomas tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. At bat, Pugh went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and two doubles, while Thomas went a perfect 1-for-1 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That's the most runs Pugh has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Olivia Hochevar was excellent, going 1-for-4 with one home run and three RBI. That home run was her first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Maryn Davis, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Grace Christian hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least four batters in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, American Leadership Academy-Johnston came up short against Falls Lake on Wednesday and fell 9-5.
Makayla Cooke and Addison Cooke did some serious damage despite the final result: Makayla went 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI, while Addison got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs and one double.
Grace Christian's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-3. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for American Leadership Academy-Johnston, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-9.
Grace Christian took their victory against American Leadership Academy-Johnston when the teams last played back in March by a conclusive 13-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Crusaders since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
