Softball Game Preview: Red Bank Regional Bucs vs. Long Branch Green Wave

Red Bank Regional has gone a perfect 5-0 against Long Branch recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Bucs will be playing in front of their home fans against the Green Wave at 3:45 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Having struggled with six defeats in a row, Red Bank Regional turned things around against Keyport on Wednesday. They never let the Raiders get on the board and left with an 18-0 victory. The Bucs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matchups by eight runs or more this season.

Meanwhile, Long Branch got the win against Lakewood on Thursday by a conclusive 24-14. The win continues a trend for the Green Wave in their matchups with the Piners: they've now won seven in a row.

Cindy Astacio-Gomez made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out nine batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and 12 unearned) runs off seven hits. Those nine strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in five of her six plate appearances with two runs and two RBI.

In other batting news, Jaidyn Turner was incredible, getting on base in all six of her plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and three RBI. Those four runs gave her a new career-high. Ayana Gonzalez was another key player, getting on base in five of her six plate appearances with three stolen bases, five runs, and one RBI.

Red Bank Regional's victory bumped their record up to 8-10. As for Long Branch, their win bumped their record up to 2-11.

Everything went Red Bank Regional's way against Long Branch in their previous matchup back in April, as Red Bank Regional made off with a 21-1 victory. Do the Bucs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Green Wave turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.