The Pace Patriots will face off against the Niceville Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Pace sitting on three straight victories and Niceville on nine.
Pace is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. Everything went their way against Oviedo as Pace made off with a 12-2 win. The result was nothing new for Pace, who have now won 18 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Jayden Heavener spent all five innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on one hit and racked up ten Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 23 consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Shelby McKenzie was incredible, firing off two home runs, five RBI, and three runs while going 4-for-4. She has been hot recently, having posted four or more RBI the last three times she's played. Mallory Baker was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with a home run.
Meanwhile, Niceville made easy work of Winter Springs on Thursday and carried off an 8-2 victory.
Briana Noles was excellent, going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Molly Mayfield, who scored a run while going 1-for-1.
Pace has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 16 of their last 17 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 24-2 record this season. As for Niceville, they pushed their record up to 18-8 with that win, which was their seventh straight at home.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Pace has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 13.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Niceville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Pace's way against Niceville in their previous meeting back in March as Pace made off with a 6-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pace since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
