John Champe is 0-6 against Woodgrove since March of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The John Champe Knights will head out on the road to challenge the Woodgrove Wolverines at 6:30 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, it was close, but John Champe sidestepped Broad Run for a 5-4 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for John Champe.
Devon Yi made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits. Yi has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. Yi 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 Lily Perez, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. Sydney Perez was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Woodgrove had no problem doing just that on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Spartans a 14-0 shutout. The victory was just business as usual For Woodgrove, who after 20 games remain undefeated this season.
Like John Champe, Woodgrove also got a great game from a two-way player: Abbey Lane. She didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. Lane was also big at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, and two doubles.
In other batting news, Cayden Sparks was a standout: she scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Grace Anderson, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
John Champe's record is now 11-8. As for Woodgrove, their win was their 24th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 20-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. John Champe has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Woodgrove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 12. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
John Champe might still be hurting after the 12-1 loss they got from Woodgrove in their previous meeting two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lane, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Now that John Champe knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
