The Knightstown Panthers will face off against the Franklin County Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Knightstown fell victim to Connersville and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They lost 10-0 to the Spartans. The Panthers have struggled against the Spartans recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive lost meeting.
Meanwhile, Franklin County got themselves on the board against Rushville on Thursday, but Rushville never followed suit. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over the Lions. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by ten runs or more this season.
Franklin County let Annie Hoff and Tiffany Billman run wild. Hoff went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run, while Billman went 2-for-3 with one home run and three runs. Those two doubles gave Hoff a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Brooke Stang, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Franklin County was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .324 or higher in six consecutive games.
Franklin County has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.9 runs on average over those games. As for Knightstown, they now have a losing record of 6-7.
Friday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Knightstown hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .358. However, it's not like Franklin County struggles in that department as they've averaged .464. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Knightstown skirted past Franklin County 6-5 in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
