Softball Game Preview: Quartz Hill Royals vs. Highland Bulldogs

Quartz Hill has gone 8-2 against Highland recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Quartz Hill Royals will look to defend their home field against the Highland Bulldogs at 3:15 p.m. Quartz Hill is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last four games.

Highland's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Thursday: Quartz Hill hadn't allowed a single run the last four times they've hit the field. Quartz Hill never let Lancaster get on the board and left with a 2-0 victory on Tuesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Royals have posted since May 7, 2024.

Dakota Ponder

Batters Struck Out

03/11/25 vs Lancaster	8
03/07/25 @ Apple Valley	7
03/01/25 vs Louisville	11
02/27/25 vs Canyon Springs	7
02/22/25 vs Birmingham	5
+ 2 more games

Dakota Ponder made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over seven innings pitched. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 5.1 strikeouts per game. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one double and one RBI.

In other batting news, Rylee Christensen and Nina Sepulveda did most of the damage at the plate: Christensen scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Sepulveda scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. Sepulveda has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times she's played.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Highland). They were the clear victor by a 12-2 margin over Littlerock on Tuesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Bulldogs with their most commanding win of the season.

Highland has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight games. That's provided a massive bump to their 6-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. Quartz Hill now has a winning record of 5-4.

Everything went Quartz Hill's way against Highland when the teams last played back in March of 2024, as Quartz Hill made off with a 15-6 victory. Will Quartz Hill repeat their success, or does Highland have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.