Softball Game Preview: Draughn Wildcats vs. Union Academy Cardinals

The Draughn Wildcats will square off against the Union Academy Cardinals on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Draughn is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Mountain Island Charter 15-3. The win was nothing new for the Wildcats as they're now sitting on three straight.

Meanwhile, Union Academy got themselves on the board against South Stanly on Friday, but South Stanly never followed suit. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over the Rowdy Rebel Bulls. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Cardinals.

Avery Wilson was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over six innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Paige Quinn, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI, one run, and one double. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Laney Hildreth, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs.

Union Academy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .452. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .312 or higher in four consecutive matchups.

Union Academy's victory was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 23-1. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Draughn, their record now sits at 15-9.