The Sandhills Classical Christian Lions are taking a road trip to square off against the Antioch Christian Academy Gators at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Sandhills Classical Christian will bounce into Monday's contest after beating Liberty Christian Academy, who they had gone 0-3 against in their three prior meetings. The Lions put the hurt on the Knights with a sharp 13-7 victory on Friday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Lions considering their two-run performance the match before.
Tyler Allen tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Casey McBride, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Landon Smith, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
The home team had won the previous four meetings between Antioch Christian Academy and Mintz Christian Academy, and Antioch Christian Academy kept the tradition alive. The Gators were the clear victors by a 7-1 margin over the Lions two weeks ago. The result was nothing new for the Gators, who have now won three games by six runs or more so far this season.
Josiah Jones made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 16 over 6.2 innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one hit in five consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with seven stolen bases and one run. He has become a key player for Antioch Christian Academy: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 0-3 otherwise.
Jones wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Carson Phillips, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple. Phillips is becoming a predictor of Antioch Christian Academy's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 0-3 when he doesn't). Bailee Hardee was another, going 2-for-3 with two runs.
Antioch Christian Academy is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.2 runs over those games. As for Sandhills Classical Christian, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 3-7.
Sandhills Classical Christian couldn't quite get it done against Antioch Christian Academy when the teams last played back in April as they fell 14-11. Can the Lions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
