The Foard Tigers will head out on the road to take on the St. Stephens Indians at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Foard's pitching crew has only allowed 2.9 runs per game this season, so St. Stephens' hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Foard is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering North Iredell just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Monday. They fell just short of the Raiders by a score of 10-9.
Karsyn Sigmon was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. She struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and eight unearned) runs off 11 hits. Sigmon has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Sigmon was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Riley Vogel was cooking despite her team's loss, going 3-for-4 with three runs, two doubles, and a triple. Alexis Stuebe was another key contributor, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, a triple, and a run.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for St. Stephens, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They blew past Statesville 16-1. With that win, St. Stephens brought their scoring average up to 6.1 runs per game.
Like Foard, St. Stephens also got a great game from a two-way player: Anicka McFarland. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 11 over four innings pitched. McFarland was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-2 with six RBI, a triple, and a run.
In other batting news, St. Stephens got a massive performance out of Kayla Berry, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Kallie Canipe, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Foard's defeat ended a nine-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 11-4. As for St. Stephens, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 8-11 record this season.
St. Stephens' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Foard has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .530. It's a different story for St. Stephens, though, as they've only averaged .338. Will they be able to contain Foard's hitters?
Everything went Foard's way against St. Stephens in their previous meeting on April 9th as Foard made off with a 13-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Foard since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
