After both having extra time off, the Cherokee Christian Warriors and The King's Academy Knights will shake off the cobwebs and face off against one another at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Back in March, Cherokee Christian made easy work of Horizon Christian Academy and carried off a 12-2 win. That's two games straight that Cherokee Christian has won by exactly ten runs.
Charlie Goodwin made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 12 batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Goodwin was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Chandler Griffis was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Will Basso was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, a stolen base, and a double.
Meanwhile, The King's Academy has not done well against St. Francis recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way last Thursday. The King's Academy put the hurt on St. Francis with a sharp 16-5 victory.
The team relied heavily on Cory Culpepper, who scored four runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Carter Payne, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Cherokee Christian's win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-3. Those good results were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs per game. As for The King's Academy, their record is now 16-2.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Cherokee Christian has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like The King's Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.6. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Cherokee Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over The King's Academy in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, winning 10-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for Cherokee Christian since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
