The Gulf Shores Dolphins will head out on the road to face off against the Pace Patriots at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Gulf Shores 4, Pace 0.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Gulf Shores is headed into the match having just suffered their closest loss since February 15th on Tuesday. They fell just short of Liberty Creek by a score of 4-2.
Anna Leigh Price spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on eight hits.
On the hitting side, Gulf Shores saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Neaveh James, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. That stolen base marked the first that James snagged this season.
Meanwhile, Pace put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. Everything went their way against T.R. Miller as Pace made off with an 8-1 victory. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won six games by seven runs or more so far this season.
Abby McLean made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other pitching news, Hannah DeMarcus tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 14 over six innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up a single earned run any time she's pitched this season.
Back at the plate, Gracie Ueberroth and Emma Hicks did most of the damage at the plate: Ueberroth scored a run while going 2-for-4, while Hicks scored a run while going 2-for-3. Grayson Cox was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Pace always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .541. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as T.R. Miller only posted an OBP of .200.
Pace's win was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-0. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Gulf Shores, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-8-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Gulf Shores 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 Pace struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Gulf Shores suffered a grim 13-5 defeat to Pace in their previous meeting back in February of 2020. Can Gulf Shores avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
