Softball Game Preview: Damascus Hornets vs. Southern Bulldogs

The Damascus Hornets will face off against the Southern Bulldogs on Monday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.

Damascus' pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They blew past Northwest 9-0. The result was nothing new for the Hornets, who have now won 11 games by nine runs or more so far this season.

Damascus got a great performance from Aislinn Sell as she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Sell has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Damascus let Amaya Hammond and Katelynn Doyle run wild. Hammond went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Doyle went 3-for-4 with three RBI. That's the most hits Hammond has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Payton Wallace, who got on base in two of her four plate appearances with two runs and two RBI.

Meanwhile, two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Southern walked away with it. They put the hurt on the Golden Bears with a sharp 15-1 win on Thursday. Considering the Bulldogs' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.

Damascus is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-3-1 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.1 runs over those games. As for Southern, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-10.