Softball Preview: Pace Patriots vs. Hagerty Huskies
The Pace Patriots will challenge the Hagerty Huskies at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Pace is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Niceville a 9-0 shutout. Winning may never get old, but Pace sure is getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Niceville's batters probably weren't too happy with Jayden Heavener, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 18 Ks (she gave up three walks). Heavener has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 24 consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Shelby McKenzie was a standout: she got on base in four of her five plate appearances with a home run and two RBI. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one home run the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kamryn Pierce, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.
Meanwhile, Hagerty faced Oakleaf in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. Hagerty put the hurt on Oakleaf with a sharp 11-0 win. Hagerty's victory was all the more impressive since Oakleaf was averaging only 3.67 runs allowed on the season.
Ella Verne looked comfortable as she didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out six over four innings pitched.
At the plate, Alexandra Beldowicz was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs, and three RBI. Ana Roman was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs.
Pace has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 17 of their last 18 games, which provided a nice bump to their 25-2 record this season. As for Hagerty, the win (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 23-5.
Everything went Pace's way against Hagerty in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 as Pace made off with a 10-1 victory. Will Pace repeat their success, or does Hagerty have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
