Softball Preview: Kimball Jaguars vs. Oakdale Mustangs
Kimball is 0-10 against Oakdale since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Kimball Jaguars will be playing in front of their home fans against the Oakdale Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. Kimball is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.
Kimball fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against Central Catholic on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Raiders by a score of 7-6. That's two games in a row now that Kimball has lost by just one run.
Elysia Duarte made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Bianca Quintero, who scored two runs while going 2-for-5.
Even though they lost, Kimball was hitting in the alleys and finished the game with three doubles. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Central Catholic didn't hit any.
Meanwhile, in what's become a running theme this season, Oakdale gave their fans yet another huge win on Thursday. They never let East Union onto the board and left with an 8-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for Oakdale.
The result came thanks to Raegen Everett's shutout, as she gave up just two hits and racked up 14 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Presley Barnes, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with a home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Madi Bohannon, who went 1-for-2 with a triple and a run.
This is the second loss in a row for Kimball and nudges their season record down to 9-8. As for Oakdale, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season.
Tuesday's contest will be a test for both team's pitchers. Kimball hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .366. However, it's not like Oakdale struggles in that department as they've averaged .357. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Kimball suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Oakdale when the teams last played on April 9th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Everett, who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over four innings pitched. Now that Kimball knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
