Softball Game Preview: Central Spartans vs. Imperial Tigers

For the second straight game, Central will face off against Imperial. The Spartans will welcome the Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Central has struggled recently with seven defeats in a row, while Imperial will arrive with four straight wins.

Central lost 8-2 to Imperial on Tuesday.

For Imperial's part, Cienna Alvarez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Alvarez has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs.

In other batting news, Addison Clark was incredible, going 3-for-4 with four stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. Those four stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Hailey Lepe, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.

Imperial was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Central only posted a batting average of .091.

Imperial's victory was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 19-5. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.5 runs over those games. As for Central, their loss dropped their record down to 6-13.