Softball Game Preview: Union Academy Cardinals vs. Murphy Bulldogs

The Union Academy Cardinals will challenge the Murphy Bulldogs on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Union Academy sitting on three straight wins and Murphy on six.

Union Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Draughn an 8-0 shutout. The Cardinals might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 21 matches by six runs or more this season.

Avery Wilson

Batters Struck Out

05/13/25 vs Draughn	20
05/09/25 vs South Stanly	10
05/06/25 vs Bessemer City	8
04/29/25 vs South Stanly	11
04/17/25 vs South Stanly	9
+ 17 more games

Not much got past Avery Wilson, who gave up just three hits and racked up 20 Ks to keep Draughn off the board. Wilson has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts any time she's pitched this season.

On the hitting side, Union Academy let Laney Hildreth and Taylor Surratt run wild. Hildreth went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI, while Surratt went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Those two RBI gave Hildreth a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Keilana Burgess, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

Union Academy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .312 or higher in five consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Murphy beat Uwharrie Charter Academy 9-6 on Wednesday.

Union Academy pushed their record up to 24-1 with the victory, which was their 18th straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Murphy, their victory bumped their record up to 16-7.

Union Academy took their win against Murphy in their previous matchup back in May of 2022 by a conclusive 11-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cardinals since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.