The Monroe Golden Tornadoes are taking a road trip to challenge the Sumter County Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Monroe's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs in their last four games.
Monroe is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Dougherty just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Wednesday. They fell just short of the Trojans by a score of 16-15.
Ny'Kerria Williams and Ariya Lee stepped up to the plate in a big way. Williams scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances, while Lee scored three runs while getting on base in four of her six plate appearances. Williams is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last five games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Desarae Johnson, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
Even though they lost, Monroe always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .625. That's a new trend for them: their average OBP was 27.7% earlier this season, but in their last five contests they've averaged 68.3%.
Meanwhile, Sumter County was able to grind out a solid win over Hardaway on Tuesday, taking the game 9-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Panthers.
Madison Shelton made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out ten batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Shelton was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Isis Snipes was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Christian Battle, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Monroe's loss dropped their record down to 3-12-1. As for Sumter County, they have been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Monroe has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Sumter County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.3. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Monroe might still be hurting after the 21-3 defeat they got from Sumter County in their previous meeting back in August. Can Monroe avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
