The Calhoun City Wildcats will venture away from home to take on the Bruce Trojans at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Calhoun City's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. Everything went their way against Water Valley as they made off with a 15-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Wildcats.
Not much got past Olivia Vance, who gave up just two hits to keep Water Valley off the board.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Justiyah Pittman, who scored three runs while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances. Amaryona Pass was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
Calhoun City always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Bruce won against Palmer on Thursday with 20 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. The Trojans didn't even let Water Valley on the board, marking the Trojans' second-straight 20-0 shutout.
Sammie Gunter was a major factor no matter where she played. She pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three RBI.
In other batting news, Addi Bailey was a standout: she scored four runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Those four runs gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Sadie Box, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs.
The win got Calhoun City back to even at 7-7. As for Bruce, the victory got them back to even at 9-9.
Thursday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Calhoun City hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .359. However, it's not like Bruce struggles in that department as they've averaged .377. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Calhoun City couldn't quite finish off Bruce in their previous meeting two weeks ago and fell 10-8. Can the Wildcats avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
