The Wake Forest Cougars will head out on the road to challenge the Wakefield Wolverines at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams have allowed few runs on average, (Wake Forest: 3.1, Wakefield: 1.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Wake Forest was handed a two-point defeat in their last contest, but they sure didn't let that happen against Knightdale on Friday. Wake Forest's pitcher stepped up to hand Knightdale a 17-0 shutout. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Wake Forest considering their two-run performance the match before.
Jilian Livengood made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Livengood has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Livengood was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, Victoria Ward was a standout: she went 3-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and a triple. Kaylee Bowers was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Wakefield stacked a ninth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They were the clear victor by an 8-1 margin over Rolesville.
Dayna Bland spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered one run (which was unearned) on two hits and racked up 14 Ks.
At the plate, Brooke Masingale was a standout: she went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Maddy Lampman, who went 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
Wake Forest is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. As for Wakefield, their victory bumped their record up to 13-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Wake Forest has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Wakefield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Wake Forest came up short against Wakefield in their previous meeting back in March, falling 6-1. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bland, who struck out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Now that Wake Forest knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
