Softball Game Preview: Ray Texans vs. Flour Bluff Hornets

The Ray Texans are taking a road trip to face off against the Flour Bluff Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Ray is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak.

Ray's last matchup with Alice could've gone either way, but unfortunately the same can't be said for the pair's matchup on Monday. Ray lost 14-3 to Alice.

Ray saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kailey Benavides, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

Meanwhile, Flour Bluff got the win against Miller on Monday by a conclusive 18-1. Considering the Hornets have won eight games by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.

Abigail Bippert made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching five innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. That's the fewest earned runs she has allowed over her last seven contests. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in RBI (three).

In other batting news, Mia Ortega and Addison Mayo did most of the damage at the plate: Ortega went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI, while Mayo went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most hits Ortega has posted since back in February. Sarah Morris was another key player, scoring two runs while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.

Flour Bluff is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games. Ray's loss dropped their record down to 4-10.

Ray might still be hurting after the 16-0 defeat they got from Flour Bluff in their previous meeting back in April of 2022. Can Ray avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.