Softball Game Preview: Durham Trojans vs. Pierce Bears

The Durham Trojans will head out to challenge the Pierce Bears at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Durham is coming into the match hot, having won their last seven games.

Durham will bounce into Friday's game after beating Paradise, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Trojans were the clear victors by a 10-3 margin over the Bobcats on Wednesday. Considering the Trojans have won ten contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.

Sadie Sjolund made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. Sjolund was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two runs.

Annalee Horn

Runs (Career)

04/30/25 @ Paradise	2
04/16/25 vs Oroville	1
04/09/25 @ Winters	1
03/31/25 vs Paradise	1
03/22/25 vs Mt. Shasta	1

In other batting news, Annalee Horn was excellent, going 3-for-4 with two runs. Those two runs gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Peyton Konyn, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Tuesday just wasn't the day for Pierce's offense. They lost 6-0 to Durham on Tuesday. The Bears have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Pierce saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Danica Hagle, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base. Hagle has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played.

Durham pushed their record up to 14-5-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Pierce, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-12.

Durham took their win against Pierce in their previous meeting on Tuesday by a conclusive 6-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Trojans since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.