The Clayton Comets are taking a road trip to take on the Garner Trojans at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Clayton's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed last Thursday. Everything went their way against South Garner as they made off with a 15-0 win. The victory continues a trend for the Comets in their matchups with the Titans: they've now won eight in a row.
Autumn Joyce was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three RBI. Delaney Maynard was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Clayton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .524. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Garner came tearing into Thursday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Storm with a sharp 13-2 win.
Gabriella Czuczuk made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched five innings while giving up just two earned runs off six hits. Czuczuk was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with three RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Garner got a massive performance out of Mayken Lynette, who went 1-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Those three RBI gave Lynette a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Bailey Radford, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Garner's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-5. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Clayton, their record now sits at 9-5.
Tuesday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Clayton hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .324. However, it's not like Garner struggles in that department as they've averaged .429. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Clayton came out on top in a nail-biter against Garner in their previous matchup back in March, sneaking past 5-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Comets since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
