The Pinecrest Academy Paladins are taking a road trip to face off against the Lanier Christian Academy Lightning at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Pinecrest Academy has four straight wins, Lanier Christian Academy has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Pinecrest Academy had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 12-run drubbing they dealt Covenant Christian Academy on Tuesday. Pinecrest Academy's pitchers stepped up to hand Covenant Christian Academy a 12-0 shutout. Considering the Paladins have won eight games by more than nine runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Mathew Sime and Cooper Chupp were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Sime pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Chupp tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the fewest hits Sime has allowed since back in February. At bat, Sime scored three runs and stole a base, while Chupp scored a run while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave Chupp a new career-high in RBI (two).
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Matthew Mitchell, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4. What's more, he posted three RBI, the most he's had since back in February. Another player making a difference was Mateo Snyder, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Pinecrest Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Covenant Christian Academy only posted an OBP of .294.
Meanwhile, Lanier Christian Academy fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Pinecrest Academy on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Paladins by a score of 3-2.
Gavin Strabala was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Strabala wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Mikah Criste, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Pinecrest Academy pushed their record up to 11-1 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.2 runs on average over those games. As for Lanier Christian Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 4-4.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Pinecrest Academy has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Lanier Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Pinecrest Academy skirted past Lanier Christian Academy 3-2 in their previous meeting on Monday. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pinecrest Academy since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
