Softball Game Preview: South Plantation Paladins vs. Doral Academy Firebirds

The South Plantation Paladins will square off against the Doral Academy Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

South Plantation is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They blew past West Boca Raton 14-4. The Paladins have beaten the Bulls the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Bulls has come to flipping the script.

Meanwhile, Doral Academy's rock-solid pitcher showed up for the team's fourth consecutive shutout on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Monarch a 10-0 shutout.

Meagan Villazon made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. That stolen base marked the first that she has snagged this season.

In other batting news, Sarah Breaux was a standout: she went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and one triple. That triple was her first of the season. Anabela Abdullah was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.

Doral Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .517. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Monarch only posted an OBP of .000.

Doral Academy pushed their record up to 28-1 with the victory, which was their 27th straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for South Plantation, their record is now 14-11.