Softball Game Preview: Greenup County Musketeers vs. Russell Red Devils

The Greenup County Musketeers will square off against the Russell Red Devils at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Greenup County's favor as the squad sits on six straight wins at home while Russell has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.

Greenup County is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Cabell Midland, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (Greenup County was ranked 15th). The Musketeers sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-4 victory over the Knights on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Russell owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 7-0 margin over Valley.

Russell got a great performance from Alexandra McBride as she didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ava Howard, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in April of 2024. Gabby Oborne was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double.

Russell was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .389. They are 6-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

Greenup County is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-2 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Russell, their victory bumped their record up to 7-12.

Greenup County beat Russell 5-1 in their previous meeting back in March. Do the Musketeers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Red Devils turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.