The Gray's Creek Bears will head out to take on the Pinecrest Patriots at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Gray's Creek has nine straight victories, Pinecrest has eight straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Pinecrest's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Thursday: Gray's Creek hadn't allowed a single run the last four times they've hit the field. The Bears put the hurt on Seventy-First with a sharp 18-0 win on Tuesday. Considering the Bears have won nine contests by more than eight runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Lizzie Johnson made a big impact no matter where she played. She struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). Johnson was also big at the plate, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with two RBI and one double. Those two RBI gave her a new career-high.
August Kebort
| 04/01/25 vs Seventy-First | 4 |
| 03/14/25 @ Lumberton | 3 |
| 02/28/25 @ Union Pines | 3 |
| 04/09/24 @ Seventy-First | 3 |
| 02/27/24 vs Ashley | 3 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on August Kebort, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. Amariya Green was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Gray's Creek always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .769. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Pinecrest lost 15-2 to Richmond on Tuesday.
Pinecrest saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Arianna Reddinger, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Gray's Creek pushed their record up to 13-1 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Pinecrest, their loss dropped their record down to 2-11.
Pinecrest's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Gray's Creek has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .540. It's a different story for Pinecrest, though, as they've only averaged .335. Will they be able to contain Gray's Creek's hitters?
Gray's Creek took their victory against Pinecrest when the teams last played back in February by a conclusive 15-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
