Softball Game Preview: Elmwood Park Crusaders vs. Palisades Park Tigers

Elmwood Park has gone a perfect 4-0 against Palisades Park recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Wednesday. The Crusaders will host the Tigers at 4:00 p.m. Palisades Park took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Elmwood Park, who comes in off a win.

Having struggled with five losses in a row, Elmwood Park turned things around against Mary Help of Christians Academy on Monday. They had just enough and edged out the Blue Jays 4-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Crusaders have posted against the Blue Jays since April 5, 2016.

Christina Scarpulla was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off seven hits (and not a single walk). Those 12 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

Scarpulla wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Avery Donohue, who went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Those two hits gave Donohue a new career-high. Gianna Ramirez was another, earning one run and two stolen bases.

Meanwhile, Palisades Park was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their 17th straight defeat dating back to last season. They lost 18-0 to Cresskill.

Palisades Park's loss dropped their record down to 0-13. As for Elmwood Park, their victory bumped their record up to 5-9.

Everything went Elmwood Park's way against Palisades Park in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as Elmwood Park made off with a 12-4 win. Will the Crusaders repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.