Softball Game Preview: Ferndale Wildcats vs. Hoopa Valley Warriors

Ferndale is 1-9 against Hoopa Valley since April of 2023 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Wildcats will venture away from home to square off against the Warriors at 2:00 p.m. Ferndale has given up an average of 7.6 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Ferndale is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past St. Bernard's 27-16 on Thursday. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won six contests by seven runs or more so far this season.

Madison Gossi was incredible, going 5-for-6 with one home run, five runs, and seven RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April of 2024. Fallon Bullan also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.

They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Ferndale kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 24 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in three consecutive games.

For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last three times Hoopa Valley and South Fork have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Thursday. The Warriors fell 8-3 to the Cubs.

Hoopa Valley saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tsisna McCovey, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one double. Rikki Lipscomb was another, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base.

Ferndale's win bumped their record up to 8-9. As for Hoopa Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-14.

Ferndale came out on top in a nail-biter against Hoopa Valley when the teams last played on April 10th, sneaking past 11-9. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.