Softball Game Preview: West Valley Wolf Pack vs. Lathrop Malemutes

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Previous Games

05/23/24 - Away	9-8 W
05/18/24 - Away	7-13 L
05/16/24 - Away	7-6 W
05/26/23 - Home	10-2 W
05/25/23 - Home	15-13 W
+ 5 more games

West Valley has gone 8-2 against Lathrop recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Wolf Pack will head out to challenge the Malemutes at 7:15 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Thursday.

West Valley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: North Pole, who was ranked 21st at the time (West Valley was ranked 13th). The Wolf Pack's pitcher stepped up to hand the Patriots a 10-0 shutout on Wednesday. The Wolf Pack haven't had any issues with the Patriots recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.

Jacquilyn Haberstumpf made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

In other batting news, West Valley got a massive performance out of Aaliah Hildebrand, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Hildebrand also hit a double, marking her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Makayla Anderson, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and one stolen base.

West Valley kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 3.5 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 13.4.

Meanwhile, Lathrop had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 14-0 margin over the Patriots.

West Valley now has a winning record of 6-5. As for Lathrop, their record is now 6-9.

West Valley skirted past Lathrop 9-8 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Will the Wolf Pack repeat their success, or do the Malemutes have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.