Softball Preview: St. Helena Saints vs. Middletown Mustangs
St. Helena is 9-1 against Middletown since May of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The St. Helena Saints will look to defend their home field against the Middletown Mustangs at 2:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (St. Helena has four straight wins, Middletown has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
St. Helena gave up the first runs on Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. They walked away with an 8-5 victory over Fort Bragg.
Tahlia Smith made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. Smith was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last three games she's played.
In other batting news, Emily Glakeler and Beatrice Anagnostakis did most of the damage at the plate: Glakeler went 2-for-4 with a triple, a run, and an RBI, while Anagnostakis scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Middletown's offense. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Cloverdale on Friday.
St. Helena has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-4 record this season. As for Middletown, their loss dropped their record down to 4-10.
Middletown's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: St. Helena has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.8 hits per game. It's a different story for Middletown, though, as they've been averaging 8.7. Given St. Helena's sizable advantage in that area, Middletown will need to find a way to close that gap.
St. Helena took their win against Middletown when the teams last played on Tuesday by a conclusive 16-2. Does St. Helena have another victory up their sleeve, or will Middletown turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
