Softball Game Preview: Auburn Trojans vs. Hartsburg-Emden Stags

The Auburn Trojans will face off against the Hartsburg-Emden Stags at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Auburn is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10 runs per game this season.

Auburn made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Gillespie, but they still couldn't quite topple them. Auburn blew past Gillespie 9-1 on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Trojans.

Meena Taylor made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in April of 2024. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI.

Addison Wheatley

Doubles (Career)

03/25/25 @ Gillespie	3
03/24/25 @ Routt Catholic	1
05/03/24 @ Athens	1
04/30/24 vs PORTA/Ashland-Chandlerville Central	1

In other batting news, Addison Wheatley was incredible, going 3-for-4 with three doubles, four RBI, and one run. Those three doubles gave her a new career-high. Piper Taylor was another key player, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3.

Auburn was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .419. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Gillespie only posted a batting average of .233.

Meanwhile, Hartsburg-Emden was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their 11th straight defeat dating back to last season. They came up short against Cuba/Spoon River Valley, falling 12-1.

Auburn pushed their record up to 3-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs over those games. As for Hartsburg-Emden, their loss dropped their record down to 0-1.

Everything went Auburn's way against Hartsburg-Emden in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, as Auburn made off with a 16-1 victory. Will Auburn repeat their success, or does Hartsburg-Emden has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.