Softball Game Preview: Carlinville on Home-Turf

By Team Reports May 3, 2024, 7:22am

Softball Preview: Carlinville Cavaliers vs. Staunton Bulldogs

The Carlinville Cavaliers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Staunton Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The last three games Carlinville has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Carlinville took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Carrollton and snuck past 4-2.

Hallie Gibson spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on five hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than six innings in five consecutive pitching appearances.

At the plate, Isabella Tiburzi was excellent, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2. The team also got some help courtesy of Addison Ruyle, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a double.

Meanwhile, Staunton had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 runs), and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They never let the Eagles onto the board and left with a 5-0 win.

Not much got past Gianna Bianco, who gave up just two hits to keep Civic Memorial off the board.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Lilly Troeckler, who went 2-for-2 with a home run and a stolen base. Another player making a difference was Taylor Nolan, who scored two runs while going 2-for-2.

Carlinville's victory bumped their record up to 18-5-1. As for Staunton, their win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-4.

Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Carlinville hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Staunton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.

Carlinville was able to grind out a solid victory over Staunton in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, winning 6-3. Does Carlinville have another victory up their sleeve, or will Staunton turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps