Softball Game Preview: Taft Raiders vs. Johnson Jaguars

Taft is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Johnson is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Raiders will welcome the Jaguars at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Taft is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.7 runs per game this season.

Taft came into their game last Thursday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They lost 15-4 to O'Connor. The loss continues a trend for the Raiders in their meetings with the Panthers: they've now lost three in a row.

Taft saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Alyssa Rangel, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double. Abbie Kiever also deserves some recognition as she got her first hit of the season.

Johnson came out on top against Clark last Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive five-run third inning. The Jaguars put the hurt on the Cougars with a sharp 9-2 victory. The result was nothing new for the Jaguars, who have now won 11 matchups by seven runs or more so far this season.

Taft's defeat dropped their record down to 17-7. As for Johnson, their win bumped their record up to 18-5.

Taft was able to grind out a solid victory over Johnson in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, winning 3-0. Will the Raiders repeat their success, or do the Jaguars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.