Softball Game Preview: Hickory Hawks vs. Western Branch Bruins

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Previous Games

05/02/24 - Home	7-2 W
04/25/23 - Away	4-5 L
04/26/22 - Home	4-1 W
05/07/19 - Home	2-0 W
03/28/19 - Away	6-0 W
+ 5 more games

Hickory is 9-1 against Western Branch since March of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Hawks will head out on the road to take on the Bruins at 5:45 p.m. Hickory is coming into the contest hot, having won their last eight games.

Hickory is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Virginia's top teams: Grassfield, who was ranked 20th at the time (Hickory was ranked seventh). The Hawks walked away with a 7-3 win over the Grizzlies on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Western Branch made easy work of King's Fork on Tuesday and carried off a 15-1 victory. The win continues a trend for the Bruins in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won eight in a row.

Western Branch got a great performance from Ava Giacometti as she struck out ten batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit (and only one walk). Giacometti has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Western Branch let Marissa Bernheimer and Kaileigh Taylor run wild. Bernheimer got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and one double, while Taylor went a perfect 2-for-2 with three stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. Those three stolen bases gave Taylor a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Ashley Matthews, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.

Western Branch always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .742. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as King's Fork only posted an OBP of .167.

Hickory's victory was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 16-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Western Branch, their record is now 12-3.

Hickory was able to grind out a solid victory over Western Branch when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 7-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hawks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.