Crab Orchard is on a five-game streak of home wins, while Century is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Trojans will host the Centurions at 3:30 p.m. on Monday. Crab Orchard is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.5 runs per game this season.
Crab Orchard is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Red Bud just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Saturday. They came up short against the Musketeers, falling 10-0. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Trojans, who until this contest were averaging 2.43 runs allowed.
Meanwhile, Century got the win against Meridian on Friday by a conclusive 19-1. The result was nothing new for the Centurions, who have now won seven games by 11 runs or more so far this season.
Kali Crain made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those two RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other pitching news, Layla Helman looked comfortable as she pitched two innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, Allie Sauerbrunn was incredible, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple. The team also got some help courtesy of Hayden Anderson, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Century always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .658. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Meridian only posted an OBP of .133.
Century has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Crab Orchard, their defeat dropped their record down to 25-3.
Century's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. Crab Orchard has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.1 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Century, though, as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.7 strikeouts. Will Crab Orchard keep running through batters, or will the Centurions buck the trend?
Crab Orchard was able to grind out a solid win over Century in their previous matchup back in May of 2018, winning 14-10. Will the Trojans repeat their success, or do the Centurions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
