Softball Game Preview: Har-Ber Wildcats vs. Fayetteville Bulldogs

Har-Ber has won six straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Fayetteville has won six straight on the road also dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Har-Ber Wildcats will host the Fayetteville Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. Fayetteville took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Har-Ber, who comes in off a win.

Har-Ber is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arkansas' top teams: Bentonville West, who was ranked 24th at the time (Har-Ber was ranked third). Har-Ber came out on top against Bentonville West by a score of 7-3 on Tuesday. The Wildcats haven't had any issues with the Wolverines recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.

Meanwhile, after a string of seven wins, Fayetteville's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They came up short against Rogers, falling 15-9. The loss put an end to the Bulldogs' undefeated start to the season.

Kendall Watts was cooking despite her team's loss, firing off two home runs and five RBI while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Marley Holthoff, who scored three runs while going 4-for-4.

Har-Ber's victory bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Fayetteville, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 7-1-1.

Everything went Har-Ber's way against Fayetteville in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Har-Ber made off with an 11-1 win. Will Har-Ber repeat their success, or does Fayetteville have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.