The Piedmont Panthers will challenge the West Stanly Colts at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Piedmont will be looking to extend their current 11-game winning streak.
Piedmont's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Central Academy and snuck past 1-0. That's two games straight that Piedmont has won by just one run.
The result came thanks to Jailyn Thomas's shutout, as she gave up just four hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Piedmont saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Bristol Outen, who went 1-for-2 with a double.
Meanwhile, West Stanly put the finishing touches on their 12th blowout victory of the season on Wednesday. They blew past Parkwood 11-1. The win was familiar territory for West Stanly who now have three in a row.
Lilly Hartsell spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up nine Ks.
At the plate, Aliyah Rush was a standout: she scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Kennedy Austin, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4.
Piedmont's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-2. As for West Stanly, their win bumped their record up to 16-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Piedmont has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like West Stanly struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Piedmont skirted past West Stanly 6-5 in their previous meeting on Thursday. The rematch might be a little tougher for Piedmont since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
