The West Central Trojans are on the road again on Thursday to play the Southwood Knights at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
West Central is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by an 11-2 margin over North Miami.
Jaden Erb made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits (and not a single walk). Erb has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. Erb was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Annika Smith was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Mara Sharpe was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.
Meanwhile, Southwood came tearing into Tuesday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.7 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Vikings 12-4. 12 seems to be a good number for Southwood as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Like West Central, Southwood also got a great game from a two-way player: Natalie Sutphin. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 17 over seven innings pitched. Sutphin was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base.
In other batting news, Southwood got a massive performance out of Grace Snyder, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Rowan Goodpasture, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
West Central is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season. As for Southwood, their victory bumped their record up to 19-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. West Central hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Southwood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went West Central's way against Southwood when the teams last played back in May of 2021 as West Central made off with an 11-2 win. Does West Central have another victory up their sleeve, or will Southwood turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
