The Ardrey Kell Knights will challenge the South Mecklenburg Sabres at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
South Mecklenburg will be up against a hot Ardrey Kell squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. Everything went the Knights' way against Olympic on Monday as they made off with a 14-2 victory. The Knights might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by seven runs or more this season.
Matthew Slattery looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Ardrey Kell got a massive performance out of Owen Green, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Jake Janowicz, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.
Ardrey Kell always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .654. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last game, South Mecklenburg made sure to put some runs up on the board against Berry on Monday. The Sabres were the clear victors by a 17-1 margin over the Cardinals. Considering the Sabres' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Christian Gegg looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. What's more, he posted four strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Pete Halstead, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with five RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. Jack Devitt was another key player, going 1-for-2 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Ardrey Kell's win bumped their record up to 16-9. As for South Mecklenburg, they moved to 15-10 with that victory, which also ended their three-game losing streak.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ardrey Kell has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like South Mecklenburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ardrey Kell was able to grind out a solid win over South Mecklenburg in their previous matchup on April 4th, winning 5-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Knights since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
