Softball Game Preview: Licking Valley Panthers vs. Northridge Vikings

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Previous 3 Games

04/10/24 - Away	16-2 W
04/19/23 - Home	7-2 W
04/27/22 - Away	13-3 W

Licking Valley has gone a perfect 3-0 against Northridge recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Panthers will welcome the Vikings at 5:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Wednesday, Licking Valley needed a bit of extra time to put away Mt. Vernon. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 victory over the Yellowjackets.

Chloe Cooperider was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Alexa Gilliam, who went 2-for-4 with one triple and one run.

Meanwhile, Northridge came tearing into Tuesday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victors by a 24-9 margin over the Trojans. 24 seems to be a good number for the Vikings as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Northridge got a massive performance out of Kaylee Goodwin, who scored three runs while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave Goodwin a new career-high in RBI (three). Mary Cate Spang was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs and four RBI.

Northridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .707. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

Northridge's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-2. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 20.0 runs over those games. As for Licking Valley, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.

Licking Valley took their win against Northridge in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 16-2 score. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vikings turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.