The Pine Tree Pirates are taking a road trip to square off against the Henderson Lions at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Pine Tree will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
Having struggled with three losses in a row, Pine Tree turned things around against Chapel Hill on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Bulldogs an 18-0 shutout. That 18-run margin sets a new team best for the Pirates this season.
Aubrey Porterfield was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits over five innings pitched. Porterfield was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her five plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that she has hit this season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Zamora Smith, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Meredith Eggerman, who went 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Henderson challenged Hallsville on Tuesday. The Lions came up short against the Bobcats, falling 9-1. Having soared to a lofty 17 runs in the game before, the Lions couldn't push the score so high this time.
Taniya VanZandt made the most of her time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one double.
Henderson's defeat dropped their record down to 17-10-1. As for Pine Tree, they picked up their first road victory, bumping their record up to 8-12.
Wednesday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Pine Tree hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .326. However, it's not like Henderson struggles in that department as they've averaged .327. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Pine Tree couldn't quite finish off Henderson in their previous matchup back in March and fell 3-1. Can the Pirates avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
