Charleston has been on the road for three straight, but on Thursday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Salem Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Wednesday, everything went Charleston's way against Richland County as Charleston made off with a 17-11 victory.
Rylee Shrader was incredible, going 4-for-5 with five RBI, three doubles, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Morgan Dickey, who scored three runs while going 3-for-5.
Meanwhile, Salem owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Mattoon with a sharp 7-0 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Salem.
Breanna Thurman made a splash while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over seven innings pitched. Thurman has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive pitching appearances. Thurman was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Olivia Paulson was incredible, going 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs, and three RBI. Marah Johnson was another key contributor, going 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.
Charleston pushed their record up to 19-7 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for Salem, their win bumped their record up to 23-7.
Charleston's speedy runners might be the difference in Thursday's match. Charleston has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Salem, though, as they've been averaging only 1.3. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Charleston continue to outrun the ball?
Charleston was able to grind out a solid victory over Salem when the teams last played back in April of 2017, winning 7-3. Will Charleston repeat their success, or does Salem have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
