Softball Game Preview: Armstrong Trojans vs. Westville Tigers

Armstrong hasn't had much luck against Westville recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Trojans will take on the Tigers at 4:30 p.m.

Armstrong came into their game on Wednesday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They lost 16-4 to Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Trojans have suffered since April 8th.

Meanwhile, Westville waltzed into their contest on Wednesday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Bulldogs an 18-0 shutout. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 15 matches by eight runs or more this season.

The result came thanks to Layla Atwood's shutout, as she gave up just five hits.

On the hitting side, Westville let Lani Gondzur and Peyton Sabalaskey run wild. Gondzur fired off two home runs, five RBI, and three runs while going 2-for-3, while Sabalaskey went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Those four RBI gave Sabalaskey a new career-high. Laney Cook was another key player, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Westville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .680. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .303 or higher in 19 consecutive games.

Westville pushed their record up to 18-2 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.0 runs over those games. As for Armstrong, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-8.

Armstrong suffered a grim 13-1 defeat to Westville when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Trojans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.