Softball Game Preview: Saline Bobcats vs. Summerfield Rebels

The Saline Bobcats are taking a road trip to take on the Summerfield Rebels at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Summerfield took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Saline, who comes in off a win.

The home team had won the previous six meetings between Saline and Arcadia, and Saline kept the tradition alive. The Bobcats never let the Hornets get on the board and left with a 22-0 victory on Tuesday. Considering the Bobcats have won seven matches by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

Meanwhile, Summerfield fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Claiborne Christian on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Crusaders by a score of 3-2. Having soared to a lofty 15 runs in the game before, the Rebels couldn't push the score so high this time.

Melanie Salmon spent all 7.2 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on four hits and racked up 14 Ks. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 5.7 strikeouts per game.

On the hitting side, Summerfield saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Akeirah Jones, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base. Jones is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played.

Saline has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 17.6 runs over those games. As for Summerfield, their loss dropped their record down to 10-5.

Saline might still be hurting after the 12-5 defeat they got from Summerfield when the teams last played back in March of 2021. Can the Bobcats avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.