Softball Preview: Male Bulldogs vs. Mercy Jaguars
Male has been on the road for four straight, but on Tuesday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Mercy Jaguars at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The last three games Male has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Male is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Kentucky's top teams: Bullitt East, who was ranked 14th in their home state at the time (Male was ranked fifth). Male fell just short of Bullitt East by a score of 2-1 on Thursday.
Shelby James spent all 7.1 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on 11 hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Madison Reed was cooking despite her team's loss, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with a stolen base and a double.
Meanwhile, while Mercy put up plenty of runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Atherton. Mercy put the hurt on Atherton with a sharp 11-0 victory. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Mercy considering their two-run performance the matchup before.
Maya Merrill made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over six innings pitched. Merrill was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Peyton Arnold, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Ava Reinhart was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and a double.
Male's defeat dropped their record down to 18-7. As for Mercy, their win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-13.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
