Softball Preview: Pleasant Grove Eagles vs. Elk Grove Thundering Herd
Pleasant Grove is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Elk Grove is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Pleasant Grove Eagles will take on the Elk Grove Thundering Herd at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (Pleasant Grove: 2.2, Elk Grove: 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Pleasant Grove stacked an 11th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Monday. They blew past Davis Sr. 9-2. That's two games straight that Pleasant Grove has won by exactly seven runs.
Madeline Lawson made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and not a single walk). Lawson has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive pitching appearances. Lawson was also big at the plate, going 4-for-4 with three RBI and a double.
In other batting news, Shealynn Stinson was incredible, going 3-for-5 with three runs, three RBI, and a triple. Natalie Brozaitis was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBI, and a run.
Meanwhile, Elk Grove didn't have quite enough to beat Sheldon on Monday and fell 3-2.
Madison Carda spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on seven hits.
On the hitting side, Katelyn Maciel was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
Pleasant Grove's win bumped their record up to 16-3. As for Elk Grove, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 16-9.
Elk Grove's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday. Pleasant Grove has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Elk Grove, though, as they've been averaging only 1.9. Will Pleasant Grove keep running through batters, or will Elk Grove buck the trend?
Pleasant Grove skirted past Elk Grove 3-1 when the teams last played back in April. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Carda, who pitched seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Pleasant Grove still be able to contain Carda? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
