Softball Preview: Spanish Fork Dons vs. Wasatch Wasps
Spanish Fork is on a six-game streak of home wins, while Wasatch is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Spanish Fork Dons will take on the Wasatch Wasps at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Spanish Fork is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Utah's top teams: Salem Hills, who was ranked 11th in their home state at the time (Spanish Fork was ranked first). Spanish Fork came out on top against Salem Hills by a score of 4-1 on Tuesday.
Lucy Evans spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up ten Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jade Romero, who went 2-for-3 with a home run.
Meanwhile, Wasatch won against Timpview on Tuesday with ten runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. Wasatch's pitcher stepped up to hand Timpview a 10-0 shutout. That's two games straight that Wasatch has won by exactly ten runs.
Hallie McNaughtan was a major factor no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 13 over seven innings pitched. McNaughtan was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Liana Jones, who went 4-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Berlyn Brown, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.
Spanish Fork's victory bumped their record up to 21-2. As for Wasatch, their win bumped their record up to 5-17.
Wasatch's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Spanish Fork hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .375. It's a different story for Wasatch, though, as they've only averaged .225. Will they be able to contain Spanish Fork's hitters?
Spanish Fork was able to grind out a solid victory over Wasatch when the teams last played back in April, winning 5-2. Will Spanish Fork repeat their success, or does Wasatch have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
