Softball Game Preview: Bangs Dragons vs. Hawley Bearcats

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Previous 5 Games

02/28/25 - Neutral	6-3 W
02/14/25 - Neutral	6-2 W
05/12/23 - Neutral	10-4 W
05/11/23 - Neutral	4-0 W
02/15/19 - Away	20-10 W

Bangs has gone a perfect 5-0 against Hawley recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Dragons will host the Bearcats at 3:00 p.m. The timing is sure in Bangs' favor as the squad sits on 14 straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Hawley has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.

Bangs proved they can win big two weeks ago (they won by ten) and on Wednesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-6 victory over Cisco. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Dragons have posted since February 15th.

Bangs let Cheyenne Rush and Adalynne Stephens run wild. Rush went 2-for-4 with one home run, three stolen bases, and two runs, while Stephens went 2-for-3 with one home run and two stolen bases. With that strong performance, Rush is now averaging an impressive 1.1 stolen bases per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Aubree Buford, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.

They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Bangs kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in eight consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Hawley fell victim to Hermleigh and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They came up short against the Cardinals, falling 10-0. Having soared to a lofty 15 runs in the game before, the Bearcats' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.

Bangs has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-6 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Hawley, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-13.

Bangs was able to grind out a solid win over Hawley when the teams last played back in February, winning 6-3. Will the Dragons repeat their success, or do the Bearcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.