Softball Game Preview: Western Brown Broncos vs. Franklin Wildcats

The Western Brown Broncos will take on the Franklin Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Western Brown is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Mercy McAuley an 11-0 shutout. The Broncos might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 16 matchups by six runs or more this season.

Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last game, Franklin made sure to put some runs up on the board against Chaminade Julienne Catholic on Wednesday. The Wildcats put the hurt on the Eagles with a sharp 11-1 win. Considering the Wildcats' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.

Tatum Riddiough spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up six Ks.

At the plate, Hailey Cooper was a standout: she went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Josie Whitt, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.

Franklin lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since back in April.

The victory (which was Western Brown's third in a row) raised their record to 22-3. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for Franklin, they moved to 15-9 with that victory, which also ended their three-game losing streak.

Western Brown took their win against Franklin when the teams last played back in April of 2021 by a conclusive 8-2 score. Will the Broncos repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.