Softball Preview: Melbourne Bulldogs vs. Dwyer Panthers
Melbourne is on a 14-game streak of home wins, while Dwyer is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Melbourne Bulldogs will take on the Dwyer Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Neither of those teams managed to put together many runs in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.
Melbourne is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They never let Viera onto the board and left with a 2-0 victory. Melbourne's pitching crew has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a run in their last five matches.
The result came thanks to Jasmine Francik's shutout, as she gave up just five hits and racked up ten Ks. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in 19 consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Melbourne's win was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Maddy Prayto, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Meanwhile, Dwyer came up short against Seminole Ridge on Thursday and fell 7-2.
Melbourne's victory bumped their record up to 27-0. As for Dwyer, their loss dropped their record down to 11-15.
Dwyer's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Melbourne has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 14.3 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Dwyer, though, as they've been averaging only 3.3. Will Melbourne keep running through batters, or will Dwyer buck the trend?
Everything went Melbourne's way against Dwyer when the teams last played back in April as Melbourne made off with an 11-1 win. Does Melbourne have another victory up their sleeve, or will Dwyer turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
