Softball Game Preview: Oakwood Panthers vs. Grapeland Sandies

Oakwood hasn't had much luck against Grapeland recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Oakwood Panthers will venture away from home to take on the Grapeland Sandies at 6:00 p.m. Grapeland took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Oakwood, who comes in off a win.

Oakwood is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victor by a 20-3 margin over New Summerfield on Tuesday. Considering the Panthers have won three matches by more than eight runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

Kaler Richardson made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up three earned runs off only one hit. Richardson was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 3-for-3.

Madison Churchill

Stolen Base

02/25/25 vs New Summerfield	3
02/18/25 vs Coolidge	1

In other batting news, Madison Churchill was a standout: she scored three runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 1.3 stolen bases per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaslen Milligan, who scored four runs and stole four bases while going 3-for-3.

Oakwood was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .636. The last time their batting average was this high was since the start of last season.

Meanwhile, Grapeland was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 7-6 heartbreaker at the hands of Colmesneil. That's two games in a row now that the Sandies have lost by just one run.

Oakwood's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 3-1. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Grapeland, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-8.

Oakwood suffered a grim 16-1 defeat to Grapeland in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Can Oakwood avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.