The Trinity Catholic Celtics will head out to challenge the Gainesville Hurricanes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Trinity Catholic sitting on six straight wins and Gainesville on seven.
While Trinity Catholic's victory against Taylor wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Celtics had just enough and edged out the Wildcats 8-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Celtics have posted since March 11th.
Liliana Ornelas spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five earned (and one unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Kristina Fogelman was excellent, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. Casey Houghtaling was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three RBI.
Trinity Catholic was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .419. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Taylor only posted a batting average of .267.
Meanwhile, Gainesville won against Williston on Tuesday with 13 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Wednesday. The Hurricanes blew past Newberry 13-6. The result was nothing new for the Hurricanes, who have now won five games by six runs or more so far this season.
McKenna O'Sullivan made a big impact no matter where she played. She pitched seven innings while giving up four earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits. O'Sullivan was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Braylin Cook, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in February. Olivia Lockerman also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
Gainesville pushed their record up to 9-5 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Trinity Catholic, their record is now 14-6.
Gainesville's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. Trinity Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Gainesville, though, as they've been averaging only 2.6 strikeouts. Will Trinity Catholic keep running through batters, or will the Hurricanes buck the trend? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
