Softball Preview: Valley Vikings vs. Valencia Jaguars
The Valley Vikings will head out on the road to face off against the Valencia Jaguars at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Valley will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Wednesday, then bounced right back against Albuquerque Academy on Friday. Valley came out on top against Albuquerque Academy by a score of 11-6. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Valley.
Alexus Zubia-Olivas was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over seven innings while giving up six earned runs off 11 hits (and only one walk). Zubia-Olivas was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, Jaylyn Kelly was incredible, going 4-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and a triple. Another player making a difference was Makayla Ringo, who got on base in four of her five plate appearances with three RBI.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last game, Valencia made sure to put some runs up on the board against Grants on Thursday. Everything went Valencia's way against Grants as Valencia made off with a 14-3 victory.
Valencia got a massive performance out of Cambria Garley, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and a double. The team also got some help courtesy of Audrey Ash, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Valley's win ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 14-8. As for Valencia, their victory ended a six-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-14.
Valencia's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Valley has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.9 hits per game. It's a different story for Valencia, though, as they've been averaging 13.6. Given Valley's sizable advantage in that area, Valencia will need to find a way to close that gap.
Valley was able to grind out a solid win over Valencia in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, winning 8-3. Will Valley repeat their success, or does Valencia have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
