The Venice Indians will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Inspiration Academy Lions at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday just wasn't the day for Venice's offense. They fell 5-0 to Charlotte on Tuesday. It was the first time this season that Venice let down their fans at home.
Layne Preece was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits (she also only allowed one walk). She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances.
Even though they lost, Venice hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Charlotte struck out seven times.
Meanwhile, Inspiration Academy beat Bradenton Christian 9-5 on Tuesday.
McKenna Cassidy made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching six innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off ten hits. Cassidy was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Danika Best, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Amelia Mejias, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Venice's loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 9-7. As for Inspiration Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 12-6.
Venice suffered a grim 6-0 defeat to Inspiration Academy when the teams last played back in February. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Inspiration Academy's Elle Hildreth, who didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. Now that Venice knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
