The Eau Gallie Commodores will take on the Wellington Wolverines at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Eau Gallie will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.
Eau Gallie is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Heritage with a sharp 20-4 win on Thursday. Considering the Commodores have won six games by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Eau Gallie got a great performance from Hope Rodriguez as she struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up four earned runs off eight hits (and only one walk).
At the plate, Eau Gallie let Evie Martin and Mary Winans run wild. Martin scored three runs and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-1, while Winans scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-2. Those stolen bases were Martin's first of the season. Ava Teply was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Eau Gallie was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .538. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Wellington fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Oxbridge Academy on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the ThunderWolves by a score of 5-4. The Wolverines' loss signaled the end of their six-game winning streak.
Grace VanDyke was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk). She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run any time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Kaylee Riles was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Angelina Baronci, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one double.
Eau Gallie's victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Wellington, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Eau Gallie hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Wellington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
