The Fountain Inn Fury will head out to face off against the J.L. Mann Patriots at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Fountain Inn will be looking to extend their current seven-game winning streak.
Fountain Inn is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Southside with a sharp 17-1 win on Wednesday. Considering the Fury have won six contests by more than seven runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Grayson Watson looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three).
Joel Irizarry
| 04/02/25 vs Southside | 5 |
| 04/02/25 vs Southside | 2 |
| 03/08/25 vs Blue Ridge | 1 |
| 03/01/25 vs Hanahan | 1 |
On the hitting side, Joel Irizarry was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing five bases while going 1-for-3. Those five stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Nick Saddler also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Fountain Inn hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Southside struck out nine times.
Meanwhile, J.L. Mann unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of Hillcrest by a score of 4-3. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Teddy Garner was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, J.L. Mann saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jesse Threlkeld, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI. Another was Curtis Bull, who scored a run while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Fountain Inn pushed their record up to 13-2 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.2 runs on average over those games. As for J.L. Mann, their loss dropped their record down to 8-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Fountain Inn has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like J.L. Mann struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
