The North Myrtle Beach Chiefs will face off against the Carolina Forest Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (North Myrtle Beach has five straight victories, Carolina Forest has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
North Myrtle Beach is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Socastee with a sharp 18-4 win on Friday.
Sierra Bendik spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on eight hits and racked up seven Ks. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in April of 2024.
At the plate, Izzy Bruno was a standout: she scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two). Kiera Olson was another key player, getting on base in four of her six plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and one double.
Bruno wasn't the only one working in the hit department: North Myrtle Beach kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 18 hits. That's a new trend for North Myrtle Beach: they were averaging 4.3 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matchups they've averaged 11.2.
Carolina Forest might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 4-3 to St. James, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.
Kylee Warehime was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Natalie Nesheiwat, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
North Myrtle Beach's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-4. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Carolina Forest, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-6-1.
North Myrtle Beach beat Carolina Forest 3-0 when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Does North Myrtle Beach have another victory up their sleeve, or will Carolina Forest turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
