Strawberry Crest had lost four straight on the road, but on Thursday they dropped down to 3-7 to make it five. They came up short against the Durant Cougars, falling 18-3. If the Chargers were looking for revenge after losing 8-3 to the Cougars when the teams met back in April of 2024, then they'll just have to keep looking.
As for Durant, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 8-5. They might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six contests by ten runs or more this season.
For Durant's part, Briella Simonetti made a big impact no matter where she played. She struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits (and not a single walk). Simonetti has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. Those two doubles gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Durant got a massive performance out of Bella Rodriguez, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Those three RBI gave Rodriguez a new career-high. Alina Price was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBI, one run, and one double.
Strawberry Crest and Durant could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings. The Chargers (ranked 298th) will meet Plant City (ranked 53rd) at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Meanwhile, Durant will challenge Plant at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday with a big rank disadvantage (112 vs. 28).
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
