Softball Game Preview: Wake Forest Cougars vs. D.H. Conley Vikings

The Wake Forest Cougars will challenge the D.H. Conley Vikings at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Wake Forest comes in on eight and D.H. Conley on four.

Wake Forest is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They came out on top against Willow Spring by a score of 6-2.

Jil Livengood

Batters Struck Out

05/15/25 vs Willow Spring	11
05/09/25 vs Corinth Holders	8
05/06/25 vs Panther Creek	17
05/02/25 @ Wakefield	14
04/29/25 vs Heritage	9
+ 15 more games

Jil Livengood spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on four hits and racked up 11 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in 20 consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kaylee Bowers, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one double. Teagan Campbell was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.

Meanwhile, D.H. Conley beat Apex Friendship 6-2 on Thursday.

D.H. Conley also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Kendall Howard gave up just two earned runs on seven hits and racked up seven Ks.

At the plate, D.H. Conley saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Caitlin Mendell, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double. That's the most hits Mendell has posted since back in April. Another was Harper Bradley, who earned one RBI, one run, and one stolen base.

D.H. Conley's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-5. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Wake Forest, their victory bumped their record up to 20-1.

Wake Forest came out on top in a nail-biter against D.H. Conley when the teams last played back in February, sneaking past 1-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.