Softball Preview: Valley Park Hawks vs. Orchard Farm Eagles
Valley Park has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. It'll be Battle of the Birds when Hawks faces off against Eagles at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Valley Park will be strutting in after a win while Orchard Farm will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Monday, Valley Park got the win against Nerinx Hall by a conclusive 12-6.
Jaecie Bowen made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed seven innings while giving up three earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Valley Park got a massive performance out of Adison Durbin, who scored a run and stole four bases while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Charley Perkins, who scored a run while going 3-for-4.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Valley Park always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .535. That's a new trend for them: their average OBP was 0% earlier this season, but in their last five contests they've averaged 45.9%.
Meanwhile, Orchard Farm was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their eighth straight loss. They lost 12-2 to St. Charles.
Valley Park's record now sits at 4-7-1. As for Orchard Farm, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-9.
Valley Park took their victory against Orchard Farm in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 10-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for Valley Park since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
