Softball Game Preview: Hollins Royals vs. St. Petersburg Green Devils

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Previous Games

02/20/25 - Away	11-10 W
05/01/24 - Home	2-3 L
03/19/24 - Home	14-13 W
02/22/24 - Away	5-7 L
03/02/23 - Away	3-7 L
+ 5 more games

Hollins and St. Petersburg are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2021, but likely not for long. The Royals will be playing in front of their home fans against the Green Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Hollins has three straight victories, St. Petersburg has 12 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Last Tuesday, Hollins got the win against Boca Ciega by a conclusive 13-2. The result was nothing new for the Royals, who have now won seven matches by eight runs or more so far this season.

Shayla Query made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run over 4.1 innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.

In other batting news, Hailey Mercado and Gianna Close did most of the damage at the plate: Mercado scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Close went 2-for-4 with four RBI. That's the most RBI Close has posted since back in April of 2024. Ava Vargas was another key player, scoring three runs while going 2-for-3.

Meanwhile, St. Petersburg came up short against Palm Harbor University on Wednesday, falling 17-2.

St. Petersburg saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Joselyn Castagner, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

Hollins now has a winning record of 9-8. As for St. Petersburg, their loss dropped their record down to 1-16.

Hollins came out on top in a nail-biter against St. Petersburg when the teams last played back in February, sneaking past 11-10. Will the Royals repeat their success, or do the Green Devils have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.