Softball Game Preview: Central Valley Warriors vs. Hopewell Vikings

The Central Valley Warriors will square off against the Hopewell Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopewell took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Central Valley, who comes in off a win.

On Wednesday, Central Valley needed a bit of extra time to put away South Side. They won by a run and slipped past the Rams 5-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Warriors.

Emma Weaver spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on 11 hits and racked up 12 Ks.

On the hitting side, Natalie Iannessa was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4. Lacey Aikens was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 16 runs the game before, Hopewell was a bit more limited in their game on Thursday. They took a 5-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of Deer Lakes.

Hopewell saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Allison Ramaley, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one RBI. That's the most hits Ramaley has posted since back in April of 2024. Tallulah Showrank also deserves some recognition as she got her first hit of the season.

Even though they lost, Hopewell hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most four strikeouts in three consecutive contests.

Central Valley's win bumped their record up to 2-0. As for Hopewell, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-2.

Everything went Central Valley's way against Hopewell when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Central Valley made off with an 18-8 victory. Does Central Valley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hopewell turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.