Madison and North Buncombe are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2017, but likely not for long. The Madison Patriots will head out on the road to challenge the North Buncombe Black Hawks at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Madison has three straight wins, North Buncombe has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Madison scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Monday. They blew past Erwin 19-1. Considering Madison has won four matchups by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Carrie Gunter made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Gunter has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Gunter was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Hailey Griffin was incredible, firing off two home runs, six RBI, and three runs while going 2-for-4. She is on a roll when it comes to RBI, as she's now brought in three or more in the last three games she's played. Paige Peek was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, North Buncombe didn't have quite enough to beat McDowell on Tuesday and fell 2-1.
Peyton Whitson was cooking despite her team's loss, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with a stolen base and a double.
Madison's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for North Buncombe, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.
North Buncombe's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Madison has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .459. It's a different story for North Buncombe, though, as they've only averaged .346. Will they be able to contain Madison's hitters?
Madison couldn't quite finish off North Buncombe in their previous meeting on March 5th and fell 5-3. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of North Buncombe's Sadie Jo Hunter, who struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Now that Madison knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
