Softball Preview: Cozad Haymakers vs. Northwest Vikings
Cozad hasn't had much luck against Northwest recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Cozad Haymakers are taking a road trip to square off against the Northwest Vikings. Northwest took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Cozad, who comes in off a win.
Cozad is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Lexington with a sharp 17-6 win on Tuesday. The high-scoring effort was just what the Haymakers needed considering they were shutout in their previous game.
Cozad got a massive performance out of Clatyn Fleharty, who fired off three home runs and eight RBI while going 3-for-3. The dominant performance gave Fleharty a new career-high in hits. The team also got some help courtesy of Aubrey Hammerlun, who scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Cozad always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .656. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, after a string of 20 wins dating back to last season, Northwest's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They fell just short of Aurora by a score of 4-3. The loss put an end to the Vikings' undefeated start to the season.
Northwest saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Reyse Zobel, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Cozad's victory bumped their record up to 6-11. As for Northwest, their loss ended a 12-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 15-1.
Thursday's matchup will be a test for both team's pitchers. Cozad hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of 0. However, it's not like Northwest struggles in that department as they've averaged 0. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Cozad might still be hurting after the 10-0 defeat they got from Northwest in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Can Cozad avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
