The Roanoke Valley Christian EAGLES will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Temple Christian Crusaders at 4:30 p.m. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with four losses in a row, Roanoke Valley Christian finally turned things around against Timberlake Christian on Tuesday. Roanoke Valley Christian came out on top in a nail-biter against Timberlake Christian and snuck past 4-3.
The team relied heavily on Luke Somers, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, a triple, and a stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of Austin Atkins, who scored two runs and stole two bases.
Meanwhile, Temple Christian put the finishing touches on their fourth blowout victory of the season on Monday. They were the clear victor by a 17-6 margin over Ridgeview Christian. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Temple Christian considering their one-run performance the contest before.
Silas Walker made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out 14 batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). Walker has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. Walker was also stellar in the batter's box, going 4-for-5 with four stolen bases, six RBI, and four runs.
In other batting news, Luke Gifford was a standout: he scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Blake Cash, who scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Roanoke Valley Christian's victory bumped their record up to 4-8. As for Temple Christian, the win got them back to even at 6-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Roanoke Valley Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Temple Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Roanoke Valley Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over Temple Christian in their previous matchup back in March, winning 5-2. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Cash, who struck out ten batters over 6.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Roanoke Valley Christian still be able to contain Cash? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
