Softball Game Preview: St. Cloud Bulldogs vs. Melbourne Bulldogs

St. Cloud will take on Melbourne at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

St. Cloud saw some tournament action on Thursday. They had just enough and edged out Cooper City 4-2.

Meanwhile, Melbourne narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Palatka 3-1. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Bulldogs.

Brooklynn Steidl spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on six hits and racked up eight Ks.

On the hitting side, Hailey Cottrill was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. Layna Ayala was another key player, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs and one triple.

St. Cloud's victory bumped their record up to 10-4. As for Melbourne, their win bumped their record up to 8-6.

St. Cloud came out on top in a nail-biter against Melbourne in their previous meeting back in April of 2019, sneaking past 2-1. Will St. Cloud repeat their success, or does Melbourne has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.