Softball Game Preview: Hueytown Golden Gophers vs. Gardendale Rockets

Hueytown hasn't had much luck against Gardendale recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Golden Gophers will venture away from home to challenge the Rockets at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Hueytown has five straight victories, Gardendale has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Hueytown had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 11-run drubbing they dealt Oak Grove on Tuesday. The Golden Gophers put the hurt on the Tigers with a sharp 12-1 win.

Bryanna Kemp made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March.

Jenna Melton

Doubles (Career)

04/15/25 vs Oak Grove	2
03/12/25 vs McAdory	1
03/07/25 vs Bibb County	1
03/06/25 @ Jasper	1
03/03/25 vs Sumiton Christian	1

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jenna Melton, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI, two doubles, and one stolen base. Those two doubles gave her a new career-high. K Kennedy was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.

Hueytown was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .387. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in five consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Gardendale lost 10-2 to Thompson on Saturday.

Hueytown's record is now 22-12. As for Gardendale, their defeat dropped their record down to 21-16.

Hueytown couldn't quite get it done against Gardendale in their previous matchup back in March as they fell 9-5. Can the Golden Gophers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.