Softball Game Preview: Highland Hornets vs. Buckeye Bucks

The Highland Hornets will venture away from home to challenge the Buckeye Bucks at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Highland fell victim to Aurora and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They came up short against the Greenmen, falling 10-0. The matchup marked the first time this year in which the Hornets were not able to get on the board.

Meanwhile, Buckeye got the win against Rocky River on Wednesday by a conclusive 14-4. The Bucks haven't had any issues with the Pirates recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.

Buckeye got a massive performance out of Kelsey Morano, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Morano also put up an RBI, which was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Juliana Melillo, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.

Morano wasn't the only one making solid contact: Buckeye kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits every time they've taken the field this season.

Buckeye's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 4-1. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Highland, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 1-4.