The Ninety Six Wildcats will face off against the American Leadership Academy Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Ninety Six has six straight wins, American Leadership Academy has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Ninety Six's hitters will try to repeat the strong performance they gave on Thursday, when they got past Dixie's usually-dominant pitching crew. The Wildcats blew past the Hornets 12-2. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won 11 games by six runs or more so far this season.
Meghan Kimberling looked comfortable as she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off five hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Evie Montgomery and Janiyah Squire did most of the damage at the plate: Montgomery went 3-for-4 with three runs and one stolen base, while Squire got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. Laural Fleming was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Ninety Six kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in six consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Monday just wasn't the day for American Leadership Academy's offense. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Strom Thurmond on Monday. Having soared to a lofty ten runs in the game before, the Patriots' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
Ninety Six pushed their record up to 14-3 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.1 runs over those games. As for American Leadership Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 5-15-1.
American Leadership Academy's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Ninety Six has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .516. It's a different story for American Leadership Academy, though, as they've only averaged .354. Will they be able to contain Ninety Six's hitters?
Everything went Ninety Six's way against American Leadership Academy when the teams last played back in March, as Ninety Six made off with a 20-2 victory. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Patriots have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
