Softball Preview: Orange Beach Makos vs. Fairhope Pirates
Orange Beach has been on the road for 11 straight, but on Thursday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Fairhope Pirates at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Orange Beach is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 10.5 runs per game this season.
Orange Beach is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alabama's top teams: Hazel Green, who was ranked 13th in their home state at the time (Orange Beach was ranked second). Orange Beach fell 6-2 to Hazel Green on Saturday. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest runs Orange Beach has scored all season.
Orange Beach saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kaitlynn Robertson, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Robertson has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
Meanwhile, Fairhope put the finishing touches on their 11th blowout victory of the season on Monday. They blew past Baker 12-2. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Fairhope considering their two-run performance the game before.
Addison Russell tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off seven hits.
On the hitting side, Jesslyn Gordon was a standout: she scored three runs while going 2-for-3. Anna Bumpers was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 3-for-3.
Having lost for the first time this season, Orange Beach fell to 34-1. As for Fairhope, their victory bumped their record up to 19-16.
Orange Beach's speedy runners might be the difference in Thursday's matchup. Orange Beach has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Fairhope, though, as they've been averaging only 1.2. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Orange Beach continue to outrun the ball?
Everything went Orange Beach's way against Fairhope when the teams last played back in February as Orange Beach made off with a 15-0 win. Will Orange Beach repeat their success, or does Fairhope have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
