Softball Game Preview: Salem Hills Hits the Road

By Team Reports May 3, 2024, 2:08am

Softball Preview: Salem Hills Skyhawks vs. Lone Peak Knights

The Salem Hills Skyhawks will head out on the road to face off against the Lone Peak Knights at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Salem Hills is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9 runs per game this season.

Salem Hills is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Utah's top teams: Springville, who was ranked fifth in their home state at the time (Salem Hills was ranked 11th). Salem Hills fell just short of Springville by a score of 4-3 on Thursday. Salem Hills has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Jocile Norman spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on seven hits. Those seven innings set a new season-high mark for her.

On the hitting side, Camryn Guest was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Audree Stokes, who went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Meanwhile, Lone Peak was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They lost 13-2 to Skyridge.

Salem Hills' defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 17-7. As for Lone Peak, their loss dropped their record down to 2-14.

Lone Peak's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Salem Hills hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .395. It's a different story for Lone Peak, though, as they've only averaged .212. Will they be able to contain Salem Hills' hitters?

Salem Hills skirted past Lone Peak 2-0 in their previous meeting back in March of 2022. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Lone Peak's Megan Kriechbaum, who struck out nine batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off six hits. Now that she won't be playing on Friday, will it be that much easier for Salem Hills to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps