Softball Preview: West Salem Titans vs. McNary Celtics
West Salem is 2-8 against McNary since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The West Salem Titans will look to defend their home field against the McNary Celtics at 5:00 p.m. West Salem is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last seven games.
Last Wednesday, West Salem earned a 4-1 victory over Sprague.
Braeli Martin spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered one run (which was unearned) on three hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in 13 consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Mya Ward, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and two doubles. Kali Parks was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, McNary's hitters rose to the challenge against a Saxons pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.88 runs allowed on Wednesday. McNary never let South Salem onto the board and left with a 14-0 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for McNary.
Natalie Macik made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. Macik was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ali Martinez, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Aspynn Westby, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
West Salem has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 13 of their last 14 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season. As for McNary, their victory bumped their record up to 7-11.
West Salem came out on top in a nail-biter against McNary when the teams last played last Wednesday, sneaking past 9-7. Will West Salem repeat their success, or does McNary have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
