The Piedmont Panthers will face off against the West Stanly Colts at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Piedmont 3.1, West Stanly 1.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Last Wednesday, Piedmont didn't have quite enough to beat Mooresville and fell 6-5. The loss continues a trend for the Panthers in their meetings with the Blue Devils: they've now lost three in a row.
Piedmont got a good showing from Lilli Leopold, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits.
On the hitting side, Piedmont saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ashlyn Pressley, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI. Another was Reagan Loving, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Even though they lost, Piedmont hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in nine consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, West Stanly came tearing into Thursday's game with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Vikings, sneaking past 9-7. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Colts have posted since April 9, 2024.
The team relied heavily on Saylor Edwards, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Laney Tucker, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
West Stanly's win bumped their record up to 9-1. As for Piedmont, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-3.
Piedmont couldn't quite get it done against West Stanly in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 as they fell 6-1. Will Piedmont have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
