Surry Central hasn't had much luck against Ashe County recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Golden Eagles will face off against the Huskies at 12:30 p.m. Surry Central has given up an average of 8.1 runs per game this season, but Saturday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
South Stokes hit Surry Central with a five-run third inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Golden Eagles came up short against the Sauras, falling 12-2.
Surry Central saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cameron Cruise, who went 1-for-2 with one run.
Meanwhile, Ashe County earned a 10-6 win over Watauga on Thursday. With that victory, the Huskies brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Maleah Lovell made a splash no matter where she played. She tossed seven innings while giving up five earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. Lovell was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two runs. That's the most runs she has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nadilyn Eason, who went a perfect 5-for-5 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Those five hits gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Ava Roten, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Ashe County kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Ashe County pushed their record up to 10-8 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for Surry Central, they now have a losing record of 8-9.
Surry Central couldn't quite finish off Ashe County in their previous matchup two weeks ago and fell 4-2. Can the Golden Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
