Softball Game Preview: Sweetwater Wildcats vs. Alcoa Tornadoes

The Sweetwater Wildcats will head out on the road to challenge the Alcoa Tornadoes at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Sweetwater 2, Alcoa 2.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Sweetwater heads in on the heels of a playoff game on Wednesday. They took a 4-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of Roane County. The Wildcats have struggled against the Yellowjackets recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive lost meeting.

Meanwhile, Alcoa waltzed into their matchup on Monday with 14 straight wins... but they left with 15. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Black Knights a 14-0 shutout. Considering the Tornadoes have won 18 contests by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.

Kaylea Osborne looked comfortable as she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 11 consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Halle Bailey was a standout: she got on base in all three of her plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and one double. Tori Haun was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run and three RBI.

Alcoa 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 .455 or higher in four consecutive games.

Alcoa's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 35-6-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs over those games. As for Sweetwater, their loss dropped their record down to 21-6.

Sweetwater couldn't quite get it done against Alcoa in their previous meeting back in April of 2021 as they fell 7-4. Can the Wildcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.