Softball Preview: Lanier Longhorns vs. Gainesville Red Elephants
Lanier has gone 9-1 against Gainesville recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The Lanier Longhorns will be playing in front of their home fans against the Gainesville Red Elephants at 5:00 p.m. Gainesville took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Lanier, who comes in off a win.
Having struggled with five defeats in a row, Lanier finally turned things around against Johns Creek on Thursday. Everything went their way against the Gladiators as they made off with a 13-2 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Longhorns considering their one-run performance the match before.
Hannah Ridley spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on five hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Haidyn Ala-Jackson was incredible, going 3-for-4 with a home run, five RBI, and three runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Sophia Roche, who scored three runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-4.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Lanier lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since August 6th.
Meanwhile, Gainesville was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 18-1 to Milton, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.
Lanier's victory bumped their record up to 5-10. As for Gainesville, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-7.
Everything went Lanier's way against Gainesville in their previous matchup back in October of 2023 as Lanier made off with a 19-0 win. Will Lanier repeat their success, or does Gainesville have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
