The Wake Forest Cougars will square off against the Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Cardinal Gibbons will take on a team with plenty of momentum: Wake Forest extended their winning streak to three on Tuesday. Everything went the Cougars' way against Knightdale as they made off with a 16-2 victory.
Ava Jones looked comfortable as she tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Victoria Ward was incredible, going 1-for-2 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Those three RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Abbey Lauer, who got on base in both of her plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
Wake Forest always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .581. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Gibbons made easy work of Jordan on Wednesday and carried off a 9-3 win. The Crusaders haven't had any issues with the Falcons recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.
Sophie Cygnarowicz was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. Cygnarowicz was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs.
In other batting news, Cardinal Gibbons got a massive performance out of Katie Scavone, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Bridget Mazzo was another key player, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base.
Wake Forest's win bumped their record up to 9-2. As for Cardinal Gibbons, their victory bumped their record up to 7-3.
Thursday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Wake Forest hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .390. However, it's not like Cardinal Gibbons struggles in that department as they've averaged .340. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
