Softball Game Preview: Royse City Bulldogs vs. Horn Jaguars

Royse City has won 12 straight games at home, while Horn has won 12 straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will welcome the Jaguars at 7:00 p.m. Royse City's pitching crew has only allowed 2.6 runs per game this season, so Horn's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Royse City is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Wylie East, sneaking past 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Bulldogs have posted since March 7th.

Horn never got on the board in their matchup on Friday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Harker Heights on Friday. They blew past the Knights 18-3. Considering the Jaguars have won 14 contests by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Irella Bautista was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out six over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI.

In other batting news, Alyssa Becerra was incredible, going 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. Another player making a difference was Jayde Ray, who went 1-for-3 with four RBI and one double.

Horn kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are a perfect 16-0 when they post 11 or more hits.

Royse City is on a roll lately: they've won 16 of their last 20 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 23-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.9 runs over those games. As for Horn, their victory bumped their record up to 23-10-1.

Everything went Royse City's way against Horn when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Royse City made off with a 10-0 win. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Jaguars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.