Softball Game Preview: Flora Wolves vs. Mater Dei Knights

The Flora Wolves will square off against the Mater Dei Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Flora will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.

Flora lost 18-4 to Marshall on Thursday.

Meanwhile, after low-scoring totals in their previous three game, Mater Dei brought some dynamite into their most recent contest. Everything went their way against Father McGivney Catholic on Saturday as they made off with an 11-1 victory. With that win, the Knights brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.

Emma Diekemper made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Maddy Huels, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Rylie Rolves, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.

Mater Dei was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive matches.

Mater Dei pushed their record up to 11-9-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Flora, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost six of their last seven contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 12-13 record this season.

Flora came up short against Mater Dei in their previous matchup two weeks ago, falling 10-5. Can the Wolves avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.