The Providence Panthers will face off against the Independence Patriots at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a four-game winning streak alive.
On Wednesday, everything went Providence's way against South Mecklenburg as Providence made off with a 15-4 victory. Considering the Panthers have won five matches by more than nine runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Casey Tomljanovic, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April of 2024. Camryn O'Connor was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Providence hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in five consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Independence got themselves on the board against Cuthbertson on Tuesday, but Cuthbertson never followed suit. They came out on top against the Cavaliers by a score of 5-0.
Maliyah Alexander made a splash while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent : she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Seven Hope was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two runs. That home run marked the first that she launched this season. Another player making a difference was Emma Wrangham, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Providence's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-1. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Independence, their victory bumped their record up to 5-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Providence hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.3 home runs per game. However, it's not like Independence struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.2 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Providence was able to grind out a solid win over Independence in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, winning 6-1. Will Providence repeat their success, or does Independence have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
