South Rowan is 1-9 against Central Cabarrus since April of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Raiders will head out on the road to challenge the Vikings at 5:00 p.m. South Rowan is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.2 runs per game this season.
South Rowan will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs last Tuesday, then bounced right back against Carson on Tuesday. The Raiders never let the Cougars get on the board and left with a 14-0 win. The Raiders have beaten the Cougars the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Cougars has come to flipping the script.
South Rowan got a great performance from Remi Hagerty as she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over 4.2 innings pitched.
On the hitting side, South Rowan let Cressley Patterson and Kynlee Dextraze run wild. Patterson got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and three RBI, while Dextraze went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most runs Dextraze has posted since back in February. Leisha Carter also deserves some recognition as she launched her first home run of the season.
South Rowan lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Central Cabarrus came up short against West Rowan on Thursday and fell 8-4. The loss continues a trend for the Vikings in their meetings with the Falcons: they've now lost three in a row.
Tess Hedrick was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Haley Rezy, who went 1-for-3 with one home run.
Central Cabarrus' defeat dropped their record down to 12-8. As for South Rowan, their victory bumped their record up to 11-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. South Rowan hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Central Cabarrus struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
South Rowan skirted past Central Cabarrus 10-9 in their previous matchup back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Raiders since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.