Softball Game Preview: Licking Wildcats vs. Salem Tigers

The Licking Wildcats will square off against the Salem Tigers at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

If Licking beats Salem with 11 runs on Monday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. The Wildcats beat Steelville on Friday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 11-1. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won 11 matchups by seven runs or more so far this season.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Salem challenged Kingston on Friday. The Tigers were the clear victors by a 16-1 margin over the Cougars. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Tigers' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.

Licking pushed their record up to 14-9 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Salem, their victory bumped their record up to 13-11.

Licking came up short against Salem when the teams last played back in April, falling 15-10. Can the Wildcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.