St. John Paul II is 0-5 against Franklin County since March of 2015 but things could change on Thursday. The Panthers will be playing at home against the Seahawks at 4:30 p.m.
Last Tuesday, St. John Paul II came up short against Lincoln and fell 7-3.
AMANDA THOMPSON was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and four unearned) runs off five hits. THOMPSON was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and two runs.
THOMPSON wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was SADIE DONAWAY, who went 1-for-3 with one double.
Meanwhile, Franklin County made easy work of Suwannee on Wednesday and carried off a 9-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Seahawks, who have now won nine matches by eight runs or more so far this season.
Sarah Ham spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on seven hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 14 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Lilah Millender, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in RBI (three). Alexis Webb was another key player, going 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI.
Franklin County has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for St. John Paul II, their loss dropped their record down to 6-9.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. St. John Paul II hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Franklin County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
St. John Paul II might still be hurting after the 11-1 defeat they got from Franklin County in their previous matchup back in March. Will the Panthers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
