Panther Creek had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.2 runs), and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Apex Cougars a 10-0 shutout. Considering Panther Creek has won six contests by more than nine runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Andrea Care was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. Care has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive pitching appearances. Care was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with a home run.
In other batting news, Panther Creek got a massive performance out of Brooklinn Thomas, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs, and four RBI. Thomas hasn't dropped below three hits for three straight games. Jolyna Lamar was another key contributor, going 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and a double.
On Apex's side, they saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Leah Kendall, who went 1-for-3 with a stolen base.
Panther Creek has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a massive bump to their 9-5 record this season. As for Apex, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-5.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Panther Creek will square off against Green Hope at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing isn't great for Green Hope: they have been struggling with three straight losses at home, while Panther Creek has snatched up three consecutive wins on the road. As for Apex, they will challenge New Bern at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Apex is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 9.9 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
