The Babcock Trailblazers will venture away from home to take on the Southwest Florida Christian King at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Southwest Florida Christian took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Babcock, who comes in off a win.
Babcock will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs last Thursday, then bounced right back against South Fort Myers on Friday. The Trailblazers never let the Wolfpack get on the board and left with a 17-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Trailblazers, who have now won 12 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Lexi Haley made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two hits in ten consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Caylee Kessler, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Ava Greenwell was another key player, getting on base in two of her three plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Southwest Florida Christian's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They came up short against Evangelical Christian, falling 11-1. Having soared to a lofty 18 runs in the game before, the King's couldn't push the score so high this time.
Southwest Florida Christian also got a good showing from Jada Dimaria, who pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, Southwest Florida Christian saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Adrianna Thorne, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base.
Babcock is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 13 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.4 runs over those games. As for Southwest Florida Christian, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 11-8.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Babcock has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Southwest Florida Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
