The Manchester Lancers will venture away from home to take on the Deep Run Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Manchester headed into their last match having not scored more than two runs for three straight, but Varina let them put that streak behind them. The Lancers' pitchers stepped up to hand the Blue Devils a 13-0 shutout on Tuesday. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Lancers' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Brianna Cryderman and Cam Winiarski made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Cryderman tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Winiarski struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances. At bat, Cryderman went 2-for-3 with three runs and one RBI, while Winiarski went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one double.
In other batting news, Sarah Connell and Emma Newsom did most of the damage at the plate: Connell went 1-for-2 with three stolen bases and two runs, while Newsom got on base in all three of her plate appearances with three runs and one double. Those stolen bases marked the first that Connell has snagged this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden New, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one double.
Manchester kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Varina only managed three hits.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Deep Run). They put the hurt on Maggie Walker with a sharp 18-0 victory on Tuesday. The Wildcats have beaten Maggie Walker the last nine times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest Maggie Walker has come to flipping the script.
Deep Run also got a great performance from Brooke Wommack as she didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave Wommack a new career-high in strikeouts (four).
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Brooke Black, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, six RBI, and three runs. Another player making a difference was Braelyn Baulsir, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with two runs, two doubles, and one RBI.
Deep Run's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-3. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.2 runs over those games. As for Manchester, their record now sits at 6-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Manchester has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Deep Run struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Manchester's way against Deep Run in their previous matchup back in March of 2020, as Manchester made off with a 7-0 win. Will the Lancers repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
