Softball Game Preview: Hayward Hurricanes vs. St. Croix Falls Saints

The Hayward Hurricanes will face off against the St. Croix Falls Saints at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.

On Tuesday, Hayward didn't have quite enough to beat Spooner and fell 4-3. The Hurricanes have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, St. Croix Falls never let their opponents score on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over Chetek-Weyerhaeuser. The Saints might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by six runs or more this season.

Faith Allram made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out eight over six innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in nine consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.

In other batting news, Madi Johnson and Maya Espeseth did most of the damage at the plate: Johnson went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run, while Espeseth earned three runs and two stolen bases. That's the most hits Johnson has posted since back in April. Claire Bradt was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI.

St. Croix Falls always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .515. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Chetek-Weyerhaeuser only posted an OBP of .190.

St. Croix Falls is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-8-1 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.2 runs on average over those games. As for Hayward, their loss dropped their record down to 13-9.

Hayward came out on top in a nail-biter against St. Croix Falls in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. Will the Hurricanes repeat their success, or do the Saints have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.