The Lake Region Thunder will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Auburndale Bloodhounds at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Lake Region was not the first on the board last Tuesday, but they got there more often. They blew past Lake Wales 9-2.
Allona Turnbow spent all seven innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on eight hits.
On the hitting side, Kirsten Aldridge was incredible, going 3-for-4 with a home run and three runs. Margaret Jenkins was another key contributor, going 1-for-4 with a triple, two RBI, and a run.
Meanwhile, Auburndale narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Lake Minneola 4-3. The win made it back-to-back victories for Auburndale.
Auburndale also got a great performance from Jordan Honeycutt as she struck out 13 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk). Honeycutt has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Hailey Bradley, who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base, two RBI, and a double. Another player making a difference was Brianna Justice, who scored two runs while going 1-for-1.
Lake Region has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. As for Auburndale, their win bumped their record up to 7-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lake Region has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Auburndale struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Lake Region beat Auburndale 9-4 in their previous meeting back in February. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Honeycutt, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Lake Region still be able to contain Honeycutt? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
