The Fort White Indians will take on the Branford Buccaneers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Fort White is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Bell a 9-0 shutout. The win was familiar territory for the Indians, who have now won six contests in a row.
Not much got past Kadence Compton, who gave up just a hit and racked up ten Ks to keep Bell off the board. Compton has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in 13 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Fort White got a big performance out of Graceanne Durrance, who went 3-for-5 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That's the most hits Durrance has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Hannah LeBleu, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Fort White kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bell only managed one hit.
Meanwhile, Branford got the win against Union County on Tuesday by a conclusive 6-0. The result was nothing new for the Buccaneers, who have now won 11 games by six runs or more so far this season.
Not much got past Laila Arnold, who gave up just four hits and racked up ten Ks to keep Union County off the board.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Cloey Criggall, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Hunter Revis was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Branford is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 18 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-6 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.1 runs over those games. As for Fort White, their win bumped their record up to 17-5.
Fort White came up short against Branford when the teams last played back in March, falling 8-4. Can the Indians avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
