Softball Game Preview: Long Rebels vs. Ariton Purple Cats

The Long Rebels will square off against the Ariton Purple Cats at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Long's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 22-0 margin over Houston County. The Rebels are really starting to get used to good results now that the team has won 13 straight.

Kaylie Joseph and Anna Claire Free made a big impact while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Joseph struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Free pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the most strikeouts Joseph has posted since back in February. At bat, Joseph scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances, while Free scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.

Kaylie Foster

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/01/25 @ Houston County	5
03/20/25 @ Carroll	3
03/17/25 @ Abbeville	3
03/04/25 vs Slocomb	3
03/07/25 vs Providence Christian	2

In other batting news, Carlie Davis and Kaylie Foster did most of the damage at the plate: Davis scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Foster went 1-for-3 with five RBI, three runs, and one double. Those five RBI gave Foster a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Kennedy Robertson, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three RBI, one stolen base, and one double.

Long hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five strikeouts batters in five consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Ariton got the win against Abbeville on Tuesday by a conclusive 18-1. The victory continues a trend for the Purple Cats in their matchups with the Yellowjackets: they've now won eight in a row.

Long's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-2. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.0 runs over those games. As for Ariton, their win bumped their record up to 10-7-1.

Long beat Ariton 6-3 in their previous matchup back in March. Will the Rebels repeat their success, or do the Purple Cats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.