The West Stanly Colts will take on the Cherryville Ironmen at 1:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (West Stanly 2, Cherryville 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Wednesday, West Stanly beat Central Academy 7-2.
Madi Whitley spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned 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 17 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, West Stanly's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Payton Watson, who went 2-for-4 with two runs.
Meanwhile, Cherryville had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. Everything went their way against the Yellow Jackets as they made off with a 14-1 victory. The result was nothing new for the Ironmen, who have now won 11 matches by eight runs or more so far this season.
Cherryville got a massive performance out of Kennedy Weathers, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Landyn McBride, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Cherryville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .545. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .316 or higher in six consecutive games.
Cherryville's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-5. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for West Stanly, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 13 of their last 15 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-3 record this season.
Monday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. West Stanly hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .373. However, it's not like Cherryville struggles in that department as they've averaged .389. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
