Softball Preview: Lovejoy Wildcats vs. Northgate Vikings
The Lovejoy Wildcats will take on the Northgate Vikings at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lovejoy took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They never let KIPP Atlanta Collegiate onto the board and left with a 15-0 victory. The high-scoring effort was just what the Wildcats needed considering they were shutout in their previous matchup.
Kye Gordon was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). She also put up no earned runs, which wereher first of the season. She was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing four bases while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, Lovejoy got a big performance out of Alexa Gould, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-1. Another player making a difference was Taylin Freeman, who scored a run while going 1-for-1.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Lovejoy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .870. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Northgate entered their tilt with Newnan on Thursday with six consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with seven. They blew past the Cougars 11-2.
Ella Coburn spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on one hit.
On the hitting side, Ella Oswalt was a standout: she scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Ella Grace Kramer, who scored three runs while going 2-for-4.
The win got Lovejoy back to even at 4-4. As for Northgate, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-2.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Lovejoy has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Northgate struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.9. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
