Softball Game Preview: Red River Roughriders vs. Devils Lake Firebirds

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Previous Games

05/14/24 - Away	12-1 W
05/16/23 - Home	10-2 W
05/21/22 - Home	15-2 W
05/05/18 - Away	7-2 W
04/10/18 - Away	7-2 W
+ 5 more games

Red River has gone a perfect 10-0 against Devils Lake recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The Roughriders will be playing at home against the Firebirds at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Red River has six straight victories, Devils Lake has seven straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Red River is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of North Dakota's top teams: Sheyenne, who was ranked 25th at the time (Red River was ranked 16th). The Roughriders' pitcher stepped up to hand the Mustangs a 12-0 shutout on Monday. The result was nothing new for the Roughriders, who have now won six matchups by six runs or more so far this season.

Meanwhile, Devils Lake suffered their closest defeat since April 10th on Tuesday. They fell just short of Grand Forks Central by a score of 11-9. Firebirds fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Knights since on Tuesday.

Ava Beck made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-5 with three runs and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Madison Harris, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

Red River's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-6-1. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Devils Lake, their loss dropped their record down to 3-9.

Devils Lake's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday. Red River has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.9 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Devils Lake, though, as they've been averaging only 3.1 strikeouts. Will Red River keep running through batters, or will the Firebirds buck the trend?

Red River took their win against Devils Lake in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 12-1 score. Do the Roughriders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Firebirds turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.