Softball Preview: Valley Vikings vs. Hope Christian Huskies
Valley has enjoyed the comforts of home their last four games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against the Hope Christian Huskies at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Valley is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 9.5 runs per game this season.
Last Thursday, Valley came up short against Albuquerque and fell 9-4. Valley has not had much luck with Albuquerque recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Jaylyn Kelly was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base, and a run. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played. Viviana Montoya was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of her three plate appearances.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 12 runs the game before, Hope Christian was a bit more limited in their match on Friday. They suffered a tough 8-1 loss at the hands of Albuquerque Academy. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest runs Hope Christian has scored all season.
Zo? Mangrum was cooking despite her team's loss, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with two stolen bases.
Valley's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 11-6. As for Hope Christian, their loss ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 7-7.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Valley hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Hope Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Valley's way against Hope Christian in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 as Valley made off with a 16-1 victory. Will Valley repeat their success, or does Hope Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
