The Salem Spartans will venture away from home to square off against the Franklin County Eagles at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Salem 2.6, Franklin County 3.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Salem will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Blacksburg, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Spartans walked away with a 9-4 win over the Bruins on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Spartans in their matchups with the Bruins: they've now won three in a row.
Meanwhile, Franklin County came tearing into Monday's game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.4 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They never let the Vikings get on the board and left with a 7-0 win. The Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 matches by seven runs or more this season.
Brooke Weaver made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Becca Merrick was excellent, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs and one triple. Another player making a difference was Madison Ingram, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Franklin County hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in three consecutive contests.
Salem pushed their record up to 13-4 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.2 runs over those games. As for Franklin County, their record is now 14-3.
Salem might still be hurting after the 15-0 loss they got from Franklin County in their previous matchup back in March. Can the Spartans 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
