The Hillside Hornets are taking a road trip to face off against the Riverside-Durham Pirates at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Hillside has given up an average of 9.8 runs per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Hillside is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 19 runs on Monday, they were much more limited against Jordan on Tuesday. They lost 17-2 to the Falcons.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Riverside-Durham, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. Everything went their way against Northern Durham on Tuesday as they made off with an 11-1 win. Considering the Pirates have won four matchups by more than nine runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Grace Arrington made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out six over five innings pitched. Arrington was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times she's played.
In other batting news, Riverside-Durham got a massive performance out of Paisley Russell, who scored three runs while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Grayson Knotts, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Riverside-Durham always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .517. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Northern Durham only posted an OBP of .222.
Hillside has been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 6-5 record this season. As for Riverside-Durham, their record is now 6-4.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Hillside has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 9.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Riverside-Durham struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.6 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Hillside suffered a grim 18-0 defeat to Riverside-Durham in their previous meeting back in March. Can the Hornets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
