Softball Game Preview: Tuscaloosa Academy Knights vs. Northridge Jaguars

The Tuscaloosa Academy Knights will square off against the Northridge Jaguars at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Tuscaloosa Academy sitting on five straight victories and Northridge on four.

Tuscaloosa Academy had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the seven-run drubbing they dealt Central on Wednesday. The Knights blew past the Falcons 10-3. Considering the Knights have won ten matchups by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.

Lillian Johnson

Batters Struck Out

04/16/25 @ Central	5
04/15/25 vs University Charter	1
04/12/25 vs Bessemer City	4
04/08/25 vs Lamar County	1
04/03/25 @ Lamar County	0
+ 5 more games

Lillian Johnson made a splash no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single hit and allowed only one earned run over four innings pitched. What's more, she posted five strikeouts, the most she's had since back in March. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.

In other batting news, Tuscaloosa Academy got a big performance out of Lily Lucas, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2. Lilly Crane was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.

Tuscaloosa Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .552. They are a perfect 10-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

18 must be Northridge's lucky number: they beat Paul W. Bryant with that score not once but twice on Wednesday. The Jaguars put the hurt on the Stampede with a sharp 18-3 win.

Mills Hitchner was a standout: she scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Anna Grace Reed, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, one triple, and one double.

Northridge pushed their record up to 9-16 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.8 runs on average over those games. As for Tuscaloosa Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 12-4.