Softball Preview: Union County Yellowjackets vs. Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers
Union County is 6-1 against Blue Ridge since May of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Union County Yellowjackets will play host again on Monday to welcome the Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers, where first pitch is scheduled at 6:00 p.m. Union County's pitching crew has only allowed 2.6 runs per game this season, so Blue Ridge's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Union County is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of South Carolina's top teams: Crescent, who was ranked 18th in their home state at the time (Union County was ranked 25th). Union County fell just short of Crescent by a score of 10-8 on Friday. Union County has struggled against Crescent recently, as their contest on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Meanwhile, with a playoff game on the line, Blue Ridge rose to the challenge on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Hurricanes and snuck past 8-7.
Bella Ballenger spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and four unearned) runs on ten hits.
At the plate, Blue Ridge got a big performance out of Lily Mulkey, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4. Khloe Metcalf was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Union County's loss ended a seven-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 18-5-1. As for Blue Ridge, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a massive bump to their 18-8 record this season.
Union County took their win against Blue Ridge when the teams last played back in March of 2023 by a conclusive 11-5. Does Union County have another victory up their sleeve, or will Blue Ridge turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
