The O'Connor Panthers are taking a road trip to square off against the Holmes Huskies at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (O'Connor has 13 straight wins, Holmes has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
O'Connor's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Marshall 12-0. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won 15 games by six runs or more so far this season.
Charlotte Briscoe was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three RBI. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Carolina Coimbra also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.
O'Connor hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in 34 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Holmes came up short against Brennan on Tuesday and fell 8-5.
Lauren Gonzalez made the most of her time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Aubrey Olvera, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one run.
Holmes' loss dropped their record down to 1-21. As for O'Connor, their victory bumped their record up to 21-4.
Friday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. O'Connor has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .486. However, it's not like Holmes struggles in that department as they've averaged .461. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went O'Connor's way against Holmes in their previous meeting back in March, as O'Connor made off with a 13-1 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
