Fruitdale hasn't had much luck against Washington County recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Fruitdale Pirates will square off against the Washington County Bulldogs at 11:00 a.m. Fruitdale will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.
Fruitdale is headed into the contest having just posted their biggest win since February 27, 2024 on Monday. Everything went their way against Clarke County as Fruitdale made off with a 19-3 victory. With that win, the Pirates brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Emma Box looked comfortable as she didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. She also allowed six hits, marking her first of the season.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Skylar Loper, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. She also hit a double, marking her first of the season. Kinley Turner was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Fruitdale always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .641. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Washington County entered their match against Excel on Tuesday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Washington County fell just short of Excel by a score of 4-3.
Allie Williams spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on two hits.
On the hitting side, Washington County saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Bella Turner, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one double. Turner has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played.
Washington County's loss dropped their record down to 3-3. As for Fruitdale, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-5.
Fruitdale might still be hurting after the 13-3 defeat they got from Washington County in their previous meeting on Saturday. Can Fruitdale avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
