Softball Game Preview: Seminole Ridge Hawks vs. Palm Beach Gardens Gators

Seminole Ridge is 0-6 against Palm Beach Gardens since February of 2015 but things could change on Thursday. The Seminole Ridge Hawks will be playing in front of their home fans against the Palm Beach Gardens Gators at 6:30 p.m. The last three games Seminole Ridge has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Seminole Ridge is headed into the contest having just suffered their closest loss since March 12, 2024 on Wednesday. They fell just short of Wellington by a score of 3-1.

Seminole Ridge saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ary Nord, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases.

Meanwhile, Palm Beach Gardens had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Bulls a 15-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Gators, who have now won four matchups by nine runs or more so far this season.

Sydney Shaffer looked comfortable as she struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Furthermore, she didn't allow a single walk, the first time she has blanked an opponent since back in April of 2024.

At the plate, Nicole Schultz was a standout: she went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Reagan Towns, who scored four runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.

Palm Beach Gardens always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .586. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as West Boca Raton only posted an OBP of .143.

Palm Beach Gardens pushed their record up to 6-2 with the win, which was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Seminole Ridge, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-6.