Softball Game Preview: Harding Raiders vs. Badger Braves

The Harding Raiders will face off against the Badger Braves at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses for Harding and four for Badger.

Harding came up short against Canfield on Wednesday, falling 20-2. That's two games in a row now that the Raiders have lost by exactly 18 runs.

Azarriah Phillips was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-1. Jayda Hayes also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.

Meanwhile, Badger lost 10-4 to Pymatuning Valley on Wednesday.

Samantha Bradbury was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-low in walks (zero). She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.

In other batting news, Madison Lindus made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Kyleigh Hall was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one triple and one stolen base.

Badger's defeat dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Harding, their loss dropped their record down to 3-5.

Harding came out on top in a nail-biter against Badger in their previous matchup back in March of 2019, sneaking past 10-9. Do the Raiders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Braves turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.