The Capital Cougars will square off against the St. Joseph Central Irish at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Capital has now lost eight straight, leaving the team hunting for their first win since the 10th.
South Charleston hit Capital with a four-run first inning on Saturday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Cougars fell 9-5 to the Black Eagles.
Eliza Clark was cooking despite her team's loss, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Ella Sedosky, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for St. Joseph Central, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Fairview a 7-0 shutout on Thursday. Considering the Irish have won six matches by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
The result came thanks to Kate Oxley's shutout, as she gave up just three hits and racked up 16 Ks. Those 16 strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Brooklyn Anderson, who went 3-for-4 with four stolen bases, two runs, and one double. Those four stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Alaina Day, who went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
St. Joseph Central's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-8. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.8 runs over those games. As for Capital, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-18.
Capital took their win against St. Joseph Central when the teams last played back in March by a conclusive 21-10 score. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Irish have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.