Softball Game Preview: Piedmont Hills Pirates vs. Oak Grove Eagles

Piedmont Hills is 9-1 against Oak Grove since April of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Pirates will host the Eagles at 4:00 p.m. Piedmont Hills' pitching crew has only allowed 3.1 runs per game this season, so Oak Grove's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Piedmont Hills' pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They blew past Del Mar 11-0. The Pirates might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by seven runs or more this season.

Alicia Valladarez

Batters Struck Out

04/09/25 @ Del Mar	9
03/28/25 @ Silver Creek	11
03/26/25 @ Prospect	5
03/19/25 @ Christopher	11
03/08/25 vs Presentation	6

Alicia Valladarez looked comfortable as she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over four innings pitched. She has been consistent : she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Isabella Paskert was a standout: she scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. Ava Martinez was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.

Meanwhile, Oak Grove was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their tenth straight defeat dating back to last season. They came up short against Prospect, falling 12-1.

Oak Grove saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Alyssa Schuster, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-2. That hit was Schuster's first of the season.

Piedmont Hills pushed their record up to 12-4 with the win, which was their eighth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for Oak Grove, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.

Piedmont Hills took their win against Oak Grove in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 11-0 score. Will the Pirates repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.