Softball Preview: Piedmont Highlanders vs. Encinal Jets
Piedmont is 9-1 against Encinal since May of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. The Piedmont Highlanders will head out on the road to take on the Encinal Jets at 4:00 p.m. Piedmont will be hoping to continue their four-game streak of scoring more runs each contest than the last.
Piedmont can now show off five landslide victories after their most recent game on Monday. Everything went their way against Healdsburg as Piedmont made off with a 19-1 victory. While fans of Piedmont might be used to big wins, the 18-run margin marked the team's biggest win yet this season.
Miya Fujimoto made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). Fujimoto has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single walk in three consecutive pitching appearances. Fujimoto was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and a double.
In other batting news, Mia Leggett and Sophena Tuli did most of the damage at the plate: Leggett got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs, a triple, and two RBI, while Tuli scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Sabrina Olliphant, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Encinal unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Tuesday. They took a 6-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of Alameda. Encinal has struggled against Alameda recently, as their match on Tuesday was their eighth consecutive lost matchup.
Encinal saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lola Whalen, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Piedmont's victory bumped their record up to 6-2. As for Encinal, their defeat ended a 15-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 12-3.
Encinal's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday. Piedmont has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Encinal, though, as they've been averaging only 3.8. Will Piedmont keep running through batters, or will Encinal buck the trend?
Piedmont might still be hurting after the 20-7 loss they got from Encinal in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can Piedmont avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
