South Fork is a perfect 4-0 against John Carroll Catholic since March of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The South Fork Bulldogs will head out to face off against the John Carroll Catholic Rams at 4:00 p.m. South Fork is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10 runs per game this season.
John Carroll Catholic will be up against a hot South Fork team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. Everything went South Fork's way against Okeechobee on Tuesday as South Fork made off with an 8-1 victory. Considering the Bulldogs have won three contests by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Mackenzie Brown spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up nine Ks.
Emma Ortiz
| 02/25/25 @ Okeechobee | 2 |
| 02/20/25 @ Dwyer | 1 |
| 04/22/24 @ Treasure Coast | 1 |
| 03/25/24 @ Okeechobee | 1 |
| 03/05/24 vs Dwyer | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Emma Ortiz, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two). MacKenzie Cisco was another key player, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4.
South Fork was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .429. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .391 or higher in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Wednesday just wasn't the day for John Carroll Catholic's offense. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Park Vista on Wednesday. Having soared to a lofty 11 runs in the game before, the Rams' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
John Carroll Catholic's loss ended an eight-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 2-1. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs over those games. As for South Fork, they pushed their record up to 3-1 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. South Fork has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like John Carroll Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
South Fork took their victory against John Carroll Catholic in their previous matchup back in February of 2019 by a conclusive 17-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for South Fork since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
