Softball Game Preview: Kennedy Trojans vs. Perrydale Pirates

Kennedy is 8-1 against Perrydale since April of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Trojans are taking a road trip to challenge the Pirates at 5:00 p.m. Kennedy has given up an average of 8.3 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Kennedy is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 11 runs on Friday, they were much more limited against Salem Academy on Wednesday. They lost 14-2 to the Crusaders. The defeat continues a trend for the Trojans in their meetings with the Crusaders: they've now lost four in a row.

Kennedy saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Grace Traeger, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4.

Meanwhile, Perrydale put another one in the bag on Wednesday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with an 11-7 win over St. Paul. While the Pirates didn't have the best season last year (they finished 2-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

Isabelle Arthur spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered six earned (and one unearned) runs on ten hits and racked up eight Ks.

On the hitting side, Madison Barcroft and Reese Cornthwaite did most of the damage at the plate: Barcroft scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances, while Cornthwaite scored two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Sophie Jackson was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-4.

Kennedy's loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 3-3. As for Perrydale, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-0.

Everything went Kennedy's way against Perrydale in their previous meeting back in May of 2018, as Kennedy made off with a 16-3 win. Will the Trojans repeat their success, or do the Pirates have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.