Softball Game Preview: Gaylord Blue Devils vs. Traverse City Central Trojans

The Gaylord Blue Devils will challenge the Traverse City Central Trojans at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Gaylord is coming into the game hot, having won their last five games.

Gaylord proved they can win big on Wednesday (they won by nine) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Unionville-Sebewaing 3-2.

Aubrey Jones made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 19 over seven innings pitched. Those 19 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run.

Kennedy Wangler

Stolen Base (Career)

05/02/25 @ Unionville-Sebewaing	3
06/01/24 vs Cadillac	2
05/08/24 @ Traverse City Central	2
04/30/25 @ Traverse City West	1
06/08/24 vs Garber	1

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kennedy Wangler, who went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases and one double. Those three stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Makayla Kozlowski was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one home run.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Traverse City Central). Their pitchers stepped up to hand Tawas Area a 15-0 shutout on Saturday. The result was nothing new for the Trojans, who have now won four contests by seven runs or more so far this season.

Gaylord's victory was their 15th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-1. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Traverse City Central, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season.

Everything went Gaylord's way against Traverse City Central in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as Gaylord made off with a 10-0 victory. Do the Blue Devils have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Trojans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.