The First Presbyterian Day Vikings will square off against the Piedmont Academy Cougars at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (First Presbyterian Day has seven straight victories, Piedmont Academy has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
First Presbyterian Day barely beat Georgia Military College the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Vikings blew past the Bulldogs 12-2 on Monday. Considering the Vikings have won 12 matchups by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Gracyn Fuller was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with five RBI and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in August.
In other batting news, Addison Arnold was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. Jessica Jones was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
First Presbyterian Day was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .467. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Georgia Military College only posted a batting average of .176.
Piedmont Academy might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 19-2 to Athens Christian, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.
Piedmont Academy saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kolbee Osborne, who went 1-for-3 with one triple and one RBI. That triple was Osborne's first of the season.
First Presbyterian Day's win bumped their record up to 15-3. As for Piedmont Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 1-17.
Piedmont Academy's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday. First Presbyterian Day has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.3 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Piedmont Academy, though, as they've been averaging only 2.1 strikeouts. Will First Presbyterian Day keep running through batters, or will the Cougars buck the trend?
Everything went First Presbyterian Day's way against Piedmont Academy when the teams last played on September 11th, as First Presbyterian Day made off with a 15-0 victory. Do the Vikings have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cougars turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
