Softball Game Preview: Lafayette Commodores vs. Clarksdale Wildcats

Lafayette is preparing for their first district matchup of the season on Thursday. They will venture away from home to challenge the Clarksdale Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Lafayette barely beat West Union the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Lafayette blew past West Union 12-2 on Tuesday. 12 seems to be a good number for the Commodores as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Sydney Cregar made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the first time she hasn't allowed a single hit since back in March of 2024. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with three RBI and one double.

In other batting news, Avery Lewis was excellent, scoring three runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.

While Clarksdale didn't have the best season last year (they finished 1-12), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They never let Rosa Fort get on the board and left with a 20-0 victory on Tuesday. The Wildcats haven't had any issues with the Lions recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.

Lafayette is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. Clarksdale's record is now 5-1.

Everything went Lafayette's way against Clarksdale when the teams last played back in March of 2024, as Lafayette made off with a 12-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lafayette since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.