The Boone Braves will face off against the Harmony Longhorns at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Boone knows how to get runs on the board -- the squad has finished with ten runs or more in their past four games -- so hopefully Harmony likes a good challenge.
Boone is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They beat Lake Nona by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 12-2. Considering the Braves have won 12 contests by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Boone got a great performance from Charltotte Tellez as she struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off eight hits (and not a single walk). Tellez has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Boone let Saliah Collazo and Sarai Collazo run wild. Saliah went 2-for-4 with one home run and two runs, while Sarai went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. That's the most RBI Sarai has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Eloise Jordan, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with three RBI and one double.
Boone hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are 12-1 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 15 runs the game before, Harmony was a bit more limited in their matchup on Wednesday. They fell just short of St. Cloud by a score of 2-1. The Longhorns haven't had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
Harmony saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Noel Stephenson, who went 1-for-3 with one triple and one run. That triple marked the first that Stephenson has hit this season.
Harmony now has a losing record of 11-12. As for Boone, their victory bumped their record up to 17-8.
Harmony's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Boone has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .472. It's a different story for Harmony, though, as they've only averaged .345. Will they be able to contain Boone's hitters?
Boone skirted past Harmony 6-4 when the teams last played back in February. Do the Braves have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Longhorns turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
