Softball Preview: East Buchanan Bulldogs vs. West Platte Bluejays
East Buchanan is 8-2 against West Platte since September of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The East Buchanan Bulldogs have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the West Platte Bluejays at 7:00 p.m.
East Buchanan's hitters might be in the hot seat on Thursday considering what happened against Albany on Monday. They might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 17-0 to the Warriors, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior. The defeat continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now lost four in a row.
Meanwhile, West Platte waltzed into their game on Monday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They blew past the Cardinals 15-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Bluejays have posted since September 30th.
Sophie Grier made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out 15 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than six innings in six consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a home run, three runs, and four RBI.
In other batting news, West Platte let Emma Downing and Addison Hughes loose on the outfield. Downing scored three runs while going 3-for-5, while Hughes scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-5. The dominant performance also gave Downing a new career-high in hits. Another player making a difference was Hailey Deffenbaugh, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-4.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, West Platte kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
East Buchanan's loss dropped their record down to 0-25. As for West Platte, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 17-10-1 record this season.
East Buchanan suffered a grim 15-0 defeat to West Platte in their previous matchup back in September. Can East Buchanan avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
