Softball Game Preview: East Columbus Gators vs. South Columbus Stallions

For the second straight game, East Columbus will face off against South Columbus. East Columbus will be playing in front of their home fans against South Columbus at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. East Columbus is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 13 runs per game this season.

East Columbus barely beat South Columbus the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. East Columbus' pitcher stepped up to hand South Columbus a 15-0 shutout on Tuesday. The Gators have beaten the Stallions the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Stallions has come to flipping the script.

Gracie Coyle was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Coyle was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4.

Aleigh Godwin

Runs Batted In (Career)

03/25/25 @ South Columbus	2
03/21/25 @ East Bladen	1
03/18/25 vs East Bladen	1
03/14/25 vs Pender	1
02/26/25 vs Red Springs	1

In other batting news, Jenna King and Aleigh Godwin did most of the damage at the plate: King scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4, while Godwin scored three runs while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance also gave Godwin a new career-high in RBI (two). Another player making a difference was Sara Coleman, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.

East Columbus hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most four strikeouts every time they've taken the field this season.

East Columbus pushed their record up to 9-2 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for South Columbus, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-4 record this season.