The Ariton Purple Cats will head out on the road to square off against the Long Rebels at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Tuesday, Ariton got the win against Abbeville by a conclusive 18-1. The win continues a trend for the Purple Cats in their matchups with the Yellowjackets: they've now won eight in a row.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Long). They never let Houston County get on the board and left with a 22-0 victory on Tuesday. The win was familiar territory for the Rebels, who have now won 13 matches in a row.
Kaylie Joseph and Anna Claire Free were a major factor no matter where they played. On the mound, Joseph struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Free pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. At the plate, Joseph scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances, while Free scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Those four runs gave Free a new career-high.
In other batting news, Long let Carlie Davis and Kaylie Foster run wild. Davis scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Foster went 1-for-3 with five RBI, three runs, and one double. Those three stolen bases gave Davis a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ansley Watson, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in two of her three plate appearances.
Long hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five strikeouts batters in five consecutive contests.
Long's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-2. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Ariton, their record now sits at 10-7-1.
Ariton came up short against Long in their previous matchup back in March, falling 6-3. Can the Purple Cats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
