Softball Preview: Sunlake Seahawks vs. Pasco Pirates
Sunlake is 8-2 against Pasco since March of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Sunlake Seahawks will look to defend their home field against the Pasco Pirates at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Sunlake's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They walked away with a 5-0 victory over Hudson.
The result came thanks to Mia Fields's shutout, as she gave up just one hit and racked up 11 Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Abigail Avant, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Merola, who scored a run while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Pasco waltzed into their game on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came out on top against the Gryphons by a score of 7-2.
Abi Grubbs made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Grubbs has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive pitching appearances. Grubbs was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Madison Petty, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Diavani Navarro, who went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and two RBI.
Sunlake's win bumped their record up to 13-8. As for Pasco, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season.
Friday's contest will be a test for both team's pitchers. Sunlake hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .340. However, it's not like Pasco struggles in that department as they've averaged .348. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Sunlake beat Pasco 4-0 in their previous meeting back in March. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Pasco's Morgan Montelongo, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Sunlake still be able to contain Montelongo? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
