Softball Game Preview: Pleasant Valley Spartans vs. Bettendorf Bulldogs

Pleasant Valley is 7-2 against Bettendorf since June of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Spartans will host the Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. Pleasant Valley's pitching crew has only allowed three runs per game this season, so Bettendorf's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Pleasant Valley's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They were the clear victors by a 21-0 margin over Clinton. Considering the Spartans have won 14 games by more than seven runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.

For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last five times Bettendorf and Muscatine have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Monday. The Bulldogs fell just short of the Muskies by a score of 3-2.

Pleasant Valley pushed their record up to 24-9 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Bettendorf, their loss dropped their record down to 20-14.

Pleasant Valley took their win against Bettendorf in their previous matchup back in June of 2024 by a conclusive 14-3 score. Will the Spartans repeat their success, or do the Bulldogs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.