For the second straight game, Southwestern will face off against North Decatur. The Spartans will venture away from home to square off against the Chargers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
Things were looking good for Southwestern after they put the first run on the board on Thursday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They fell 6-1 to North Decatur. The Spartans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
For North Decatur's part, Matthew Fields spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up nine Ks. Fields has become a key player for the Chargers: the team is 4-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 5-6 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Xander Jones was incredible, going 2-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of North Decatur's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 5-8 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Trenkmap, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run.
Southwestern's defeat dropped their record down to 6-6. As for North Decatur, they now have a winning record of 9-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Southwestern has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Decatur struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
