Softball Game Preview: Bishop Kenny Crusaders vs. Yulee Hornets

The Bishop Kenny Crusaders will face off against the Yulee Hornets at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Bishop Kenny easily dispatched First Coast on Wednesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Crusaders fell just short of Atlantic Coast by a score of 5-3 on Thursday. The Crusaders' loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

Sophia Mulkey was huge no matter where she played even without the win. On the mound, she struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off nine hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.

In other batting news, Ava Farnham made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one double.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Yulee). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Raines a 16-0 shutout on Thursday. The Hornets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matches by six runs or more this season.

Peyton Tharp and Ava Martyn did most of the damage at the plate: Tharp scored four runs and stole three bases while going 4-for-4, while Martyn scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. Those four runs gave Tharp a new career-high. Ashlyn Soller was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.

Bishop Kenny's defeat dropped their record down to 7-12. As for Yulee, their victory bumped their record up to 10-7-1.