Softball Game Preview: Oakland Patriots vs. Austin Black Bears

Patriots

Runs

04/18/25 vs Gardendale	7
04/18/25 vs Chelsea	3
04/17/25 vs Blackman	16
04/14/25 vs Silverdale Academy	2
04/09/25 @ Rockvale	10
+ 14 more games

The Oakland Patriots will square off against the Austin Black Bears at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Oakland is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.

On Friday, Oakland earned a 7-3 win over Gardendale.

Kyleigh Higgs was a major factor no matter where she played. She pitched five innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. Higgs was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI.

In other batting news, Oakland let Bella Kirby and Taylor Minnick run wild. Kirby went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double, while Minnick went a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Jazmyne Watkins, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one double.

Oakland was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .409. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .346 or higher in three consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Austin unfortunately witnessed the end of their seven-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 6-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of Thompson.

Oakland has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 13 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-3-2 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Austin, their loss dropped their record down to 31-13-1.

Oakland couldn't quite get it done against Austin when the teams last played back in April of 2024 as they fell 5-1. Can the Patriots avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.