Softball Game Preview: Lovejoy Leopards vs. Hallsville Bobcats

The Lovejoy Leopards will square off against the Hallsville Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Lovejoy comes in on five and Hallsville on three.

Lovejoy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 win over Midlothian Heritage.

Lovejoy saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Addison Seely, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

Meanwhile, Hallsville got the win against Crandall on Friday by a conclusive 11-1. Considering the Bobcats have won 22 matchups by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Makena Ellis was incredible, firing off two home runs, three runs, and four RBI while going 3-for-3. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April. Lindsey Dubberly was another key player, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run and two RBI.

Hallsville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .320 or higher in six consecutive games.

Lovejoy's victory bumped their record up to 25-11. As for Hallsville, their win bumped their record up to 33-4-1.

Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Lovejoy hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Hallsville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.8 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.

Lovejoy was able to grind out a solid victory over Hallsville in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, winning 5-2. Will the Leopards repeat their success, or do the Bobcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.