North Johnston has won three straight games at home, while South Central has won three straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Panthers will host the Falcons at 6:00 p.m. North Johnston is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.
North Johnston made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Farmville Central, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Panthers fell just short of the Jaguars by a score of 5-3 on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Panthers have suffered since April 30, 2024.
North Johnston saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mallori Woodard, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. Samantha Boswell also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
South Central came out on top against Jacksonville on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive seven-run sixth inning. The Falcons put the hurt on the Cardinals with a sharp 12-2 victory. The win continues a trend for the Falcons in their matchups with the Cardinals: they've now won eight in a row.
Somer Davenport made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Davenport was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, South Central got a massive performance out of Lacey Spivey, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one triple. That's the most runs Spivey has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Haven Roebuck, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs, two doubles, and one RBI.
South Central was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .424. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Jacksonville only posted a batting average of .056.
North Johnston's loss dropped their record down to 8-5. As for South Central, their victory bumped their record up to 14-6.
South Central's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. North Johnston has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for South Central, though, as they've been averaging only 4.2 strikeouts. Will North Johnston keep running through batters, or will the Falcons buck the trend? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
