Softball Game Preview: Grove City Greyhounds vs. Marysville Monarchs

The Grove City Greyhounds will venture away from home to challenge the Marysville Monarchs at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Grove City will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.

Grove City proved they can win big on Monday (they won by 11) and on Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Pickerington North, sneaking past 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Greyhounds have posted since April 16, 2024.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Marysville, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Thomas Worthington an 8-0 shutout on Thursday. The Monarchs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three contests by eight runs or more this season.

Josie Bumgarner was a major factor no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run over seven innings pitched. Bumgarner was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jaidan Hutchins, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. Hutchins is crushing it when it comes to home runs: she's launched at least one every time she's taken the field this season. Another player making a difference was Gwen Dyal, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.

Marysville hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least three batters in three consecutive games.

Grove City's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-2. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Marysville, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 3-3-1 record this season.

Grove City might still be hurting after the 10-1 loss they got from Marysville when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can the Greyhounds avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.