Softball Game Preview: Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers vs. Space Coast Vipers

The Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers will venture away from home to square off against the Space Coast Vipers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Melbourne Central Catholic will be looking to extend their current ten-game winning streak.

On Tuesday, Melbourne Central Catholic needed a bit of extra time to put away Merritt Island. They won by a run and slipped past the Mustangs 5-4. That's two games straight that the Hustlers have won by just one run.

Madelynn Prayto spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on eight hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one walk in 12 consecutive appearances.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Peyton West, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March of 2024.

Meanwhile, Space Coast started off well but failed to capitalize on an early lead against Rockledge. They took an 8-5 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Raiders on Monday. The Vipers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Space Coast saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Paige Reynolds, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Melbourne Central Catholic's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-3. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.3 runs over those games. As for Space Coast, their loss dropped their record down to 12-8.

Melbourne Central Catholic came out on top in a nail-biter against Space Coast in their previous meeting back in February, sneaking past 8-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hustlers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.