Softball Game Preview: Santana Sultans vs. Granite Hills Eagles

The Santana Sultans will head out to take on the Granite Hills Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Santana's pitching crew has only allowed three runs per game this season, so Granite Hills' hitters will have their work cut out for them.

On Wednesday, Santana beat El Capitan 9-6.

Santana let Kaylee Lindahl and Emma Schneider run wild. Lindahl scored a run while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances, while Schneider scored two runs.

Meanwhile, Granite Hills didn't have quite enough to beat Valhalla on Wednesday and fell 3-2.

Granite Hills saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mia Downes, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI.

Santana has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.2 runs over those games. As for Granite Hills, they have been struggling recently as they've lost eight of their last nine matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-10-1 record this season.

Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Santana hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Granite Hills struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.

Santana came out on top in a nail-biter against Granite Hills in their previous matchup back in March, sneaking past 3-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Sultans since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.