The Apex Friendship Patriots will take on the D.H. Conley Vikings on Tuesday. Apex Friendship will be looking to extend their current seven-game winning streak.
Apex Friendship is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-4 win over Clayton.
Sydney Joyce spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up 11 Ks.
At the plate, India Matute was incredible, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one double.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but D.H. Conley ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past South View 3-2. Three seems to be a good number for the Vikings as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
D.H. Conley also let their pitcher toss all eight innings and she was also dialed-in: Kendall Howard gave up just two earned runs on nine hits and racked up nine Ks. Howard has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 21 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, D.H. Conley let Harper Bradley and Lena Zurface run wild. Bradley went 1-for-3 with one home run, while Zurface went a perfect 2-for-2 with one double and one RBI. That home run was Bradley's first of the season.
Apex Friendship pushed their record up to 19-3 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games. As for D.H. Conley, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 19-5.
Tuesday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Apex Friendship hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .437. However, it's not like D.H. Conley struggles in that department as they've averaged .330. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Apex Friendship was able to grind out a solid win over D.H. Conley in their previous meeting back in March, winning 6-2. Do the Patriots have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vikings turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
