The Pelham Panthers will head out to challenge the Chelsea Hornets at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
On Monday, Pelham got the win against Mountain Brook by a conclusive 9-2. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Spartans recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Ryann Jones spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on ten hits.
On the hitting side, Jordan Young was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. Eva Lee also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Chelsea entered their tilt with Mortimer Jordan on Thursday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They put the hurt on the Blue Devils with a sharp 12-2 win. The Hornets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 contests by six runs or more this season.
Lorelei Beck made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out six over six innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Sydney Carroll, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. That's the most hits she has posted over her last 11 matches. Emma Parmley was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
Chelsea hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in 13 consecutive games.
Chelsea's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-10-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Pelham, their record is now 8-13.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Pelham hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Chelsea struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Pelham suffered a grim 14-5 defeat to Chelsea in their previous meeting back in March. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
