Martinsville is 1-9 against Center Grove since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Martinsville Artesians will look to defend their home field against the Center Grove Trojans at 5:30 p.m. The pair are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Martinsville took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They were the clear victor by a 13-5 margin over Decatur Central. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Martinsville considering their one-run performance the contest before.
The team relied heavily on Paycee Lewis, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs.
Meanwhile, Center Grove put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season on Saturday. They never let Greenwood onto the board and left with an 11-0 victory. The win was nothing new for Center Grove as they're now sitting on six straight.
Riley Henson looked comfortable as she pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Center Grove got a massive performance out of Riley Janda, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Brynn Meyer, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
Martinsville's victory bumped their record up to 8-15. As for Center Grove, they have been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Martinsville hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Center Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Martinsville suffered a grim 12-2 defeat to Center Grove in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Will Martinsville have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
