Softball Game Preview: Akron-Westfield Westerners vs. Hinton Blackhawks

The Akron-Westfield Westerners will square off against the Hinton Blackhawks at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Hinton will be up against a hot Akron-Westfield squad: the team just extended their winning streak to seven. Everything went the Westerners' way against Western Christian on Saturday as they made off with a 14-4 victory. 14 seems to be a good number for the Westerners as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Meanwhile, Hinton came tearing into Friday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victors by a 27-5 margin over the Wolves. The Blackhawks' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.

Akron-Westfield's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Hinton, their victory bumped their record up to 13-3.

Akron-Westfield skirted past Hinton 2-0 when the teams last played back in June of 2024. Will the Westerners repeat their success, or do the Blackhawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.