Softball Game Preview: Guilderland Flying Dutchmen vs. New Hartford Spartans

The Guilderland Flying Dutchmen will face off against the New Hartford Spartans at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The timing isn't great for Guilderland: they have been struggling with three straight losses at home, while New Hartford has snatched up three consecutive wins on the road.

On Thursday, Guilderland came up short against Bethlehem Central and fell 8-3.

Lydia Santabarbara made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Hallie Czajka, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.

Meanwhile, New Hartford made easy work of Vernon-Verona-Sherrill on Friday and carried off a 13-1 win. The Spartans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by 12 runs or more this season.

New Hartford got a massive performance out of Taylor Scranton, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run. Those two doubles gave Scranton a new career-high. Gabby Trunfio was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI, one run, and one double.

New Hartford was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .455. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .300 or higher in eight consecutive matchups.

Guilderland's defeat dropped their record down to 7-9. As for New Hartford, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 6-6.

Everything went Guilderland's way against New Hartford in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, as Guilderland made off with a 10-3 win. Will the Flying Dutchmen repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.