Softball Preview: Valmeyer Pirates vs. New Athens Yellow Jackets
Valmeyer is on a three-game streak of home wins, while New Athens is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Valmeyer Pirates will take on the New Athens Yellow Jackets at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Valmeyer is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7 runs per game this season.
Valmeyer is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to ten runs on Thursday, they were much more limited against Trico on Monday. They fell just short of the Pioneers by a score of 3-2. Valmeyer has not had much luck with Trico recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
Brooke Miller was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching six innings while giving up three earned runs off six hits. Miller has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive pitching appearances. Miller was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Miller wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Payton Similey, who went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Meanwhile, New Athens never let their opponents score on Monday. They walked away with a 3-0 victory over Steeleville.
Valmeyer's loss dropped their record down to 12-6. As for New Athens, their win bumped their record up to 8-18.
New Athens' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Valmeyer has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.1 hits per game. It's a different story for New Athens, though, as they've been averaging 9.6. Given Valmeyer's sizable advantage in that area, New Athens will need to find a way to close that gap.
Valmeyer beat New Athens 5-0 in their previous matchup back in April. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was New Athens' Bethany Dachsteiner, who struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Valmeyer still be able to contain Dachsteiner? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
