Softball Preview: Gillespie Miners vs. Hillsboro Hiltoppers
The Gillespie Miners will be playing in front of their home fans against the Hillsboro Hiltoppers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Gillespie will be looking to keep their 23-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
Gillespie stacked a 17th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Wednesday. They never let North Mac onto the board and left with a 10-0 win.
Emma Gipson was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out seven over six innings pitched. Gipson has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 17 consecutive pitching appearances. Gipson was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
In other batting news, Sadie Sholtis and Delaney Taylor did most of the damage at the plate: Sholtis went 1-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI, while Taylor went 2-for-2 with three RBI, a triple, and a run. Wrigley Releford was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, after soaring to ten runs the game before, Hillsboro was a bit more limited in their match on Thursday. They lost 12-2 to Pana. Hillsboro has struggled against Pana recently, as their game on Thursday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
Hillsboro saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Peyton Chappelear, who went 1-for-2 with a stolen base and a double.
Gillespie has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 14 of their last 15 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 22-4 record this season. As for Hillsboro, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-11.
Hillsboro's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Gillespie has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.4 hits per game. It's a different story for Hillsboro, though, as they've been averaging 9.2. Given Gillespie's sizable advantage in that area, Hillsboro will need to find a way to close that gap.
Gillespie took their victory against Hillsboro in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 16-2. Does Gillespie have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hillsboro turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
