Softball Preview: Dougherty Trojans vs. Westover Patriots
Dougherty has gone 10-0 against Westover recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Dougherty Trojans will play host again on Thursday to welcome the Westover Patriots, where first pitch is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Dougherty is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.2 runs per game this season.
Having struggled with 19 losses in a row dating back to last season, Dougherty finally turned things around against Monroe on Tuesday. Everything went their way against the Golden Tornadoes as they made off with a 31-4 win. The Trojans' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Jalexi Thomas was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She tossed three innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs but no hits. Thomas was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Deriyah Gibbs was incredible, going 3-for-4 with a home run, five stolen bases, and four runs. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in hits. Another player making a difference was Makayla Demps, who got on base in four of her five plate appearances with six RBI, three runs, and a double.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Dougherty kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Monroe didn't hit any.
Meanwhile, Westover was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their eighth straight defeat. They fell 10-7 to Sumter County.
Amaiya Jones was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with a triple and a run. The team also got some help courtesy of Morgan Polite, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Dougherty's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-15. As for Westover, their loss dropped their record down to 1-11.
Westover's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Dougherty hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of 0. It's a different story for Westover, though, as they've only averaged 0. Will they be able to contain Dougherty's hitters?
Everything went Dougherty's way against Westover in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 as Dougherty made off with a 17-2 win. Will Dougherty repeat their success, or does Westover have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
