Softball Game Preview: Marbury Bulldogs vs. Elmore County Panthers

Marbury is 1-9 against Elmore County since March of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Marbury Bulldogs will welcome the Elmore County Panthers at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Marbury was handed a 13-run defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Thursday. They skirted past Calera 5-4. The win continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won three in a row.

Elizabeth Woodfin spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on ten hits. That's the fewest hits she has allowed since back in April of 2024.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Brooklan Popwell, who scored a run while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Emma Hays, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

Marbury always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .517. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.

Meanwhile, Elmore County hadn't done well against Montgomery Catholic recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Elmore County was the clear victors by a 13-3 margin over Montgomery Catholic.

Addison Hicks and Kayden Edwards did most of the damage at the plate: Hicks scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3, while Edwards went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. What's more, Edwards posted two hits, the most she's had since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Abigail Holt, who scored two runs while going 1-for-1.

Elmore County's victory bumped their record up to 2-0. As for Marbury, the win got them back to even at 1-1.