Softball Game Preview: Grimsley Whirlies vs. Northern Guilford Nighthawks

Grimsley hasn't had much luck against Northern Guilford recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. Grimsley will welcome Northern Guilford at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Grimsley will bounce into Tuesday's contest after beating Page, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Grimsley blew past Page 17-2 on Friday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Whirlies considering their one-run performance the matchup before.

Meanwhile, Northern Guilford came tearing into Friday's game with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They never let the Hornets get on the board and left with an 18-0 victory. Give the Nighthawks' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.

Dakotah Wilkins made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in nine consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two triples, three RBI, and two runs. Those two triples gave her a new career-high.

In other batting news, Northern Guilford got a big performance out of Paige Bassett, who scored a run while going 2-for-2. Those two hits gave Bassett a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Morgan Headen, who scored three runs while going 2-for-2.

Northern Guilford was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .632. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Western Guilford only posted a batting average of .000.

Northern Guilford's win bumped their record up to 9-3. As for Grimsley, their victory bumped their record up to 4-5.

Grimsley suffered a grim 18-0 defeat to Northern Guilford in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can Grimsley avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.