Softball Game Preview: Ector Eagles vs. Dodd City Hornets

The Ector Eagles will challenge the Dodd City Hornets at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Ector is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games.

Ector is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They won by a run and slipped past Munday 7-6.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Dodd City). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Knox City a 14-0 shutout on Thursday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.

Kelsey Hewett made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out ten over 4.2 innings pitched. Hewett was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most runs she has posted since back in May of 2024.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ralyn Daniel, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with six RBI, two runs, and one double. Those six RBI gave her a new career-high. Sierra Garcia was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three runs and one RBI.

Dodd City kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.4 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 9.2.

The victory made it two in a row for Dodd City and bumps their season record up to 4-14. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 5 runs in those games. As for Ector, their victory bumped their record up to 9-11.

Ector was able to grind out a solid win over Dodd City in their previous matchup back in April, winning 10-7. Do the Eagles have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Hornets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.