Softball Game Preview: Dover-Eyota Eagles vs. Chatfield Gophers

Dover-Eyota hasn't had much luck against Chatfield recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Eagles will head out to take on the Gophers at 4:30 p.m. Dover-Eyota's pitching crew has only allowed 3.9 runs per game this season, so Chatfield's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

On Tuesday, Dover-Eyota sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 victory over Caledonia.

Meanwhile, Chatfield got the win against Fillmore Central/Lanesboro on Tuesday by a conclusive 13-2. The Gophers haven't had any issues with the Falcons recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.

Chatfield got a massive performance out of Makenna Dornack, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, six RBI, and one double. Those six RBI gave Dornack a new career-high. Kendall Knutson was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs, two doubles, and one stolen base.

Chatfield was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .481. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .300 or higher in five consecutive games.

Chatfield pushed their record up to 13-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games. As for Dover-Eyota, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season.

Dover-Eyota suffered a grim 16-4 defeat to Chatfield in their previous meeting back in April. Can the Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.