Softball Game Preview: Newark Wildcats vs. Lancaster Golden Gales

Newark hasn't had much luck against Lancaster recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Wildcats will challenge the Golden Gales at 5:15 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Newark's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Reynoldsburg as they made off with a 16-0 victory. That 16 run margin sets a new team best for the Wildcats this season.

The team relied heavily on Lauren Queen, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Lexi Shanaberg, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double.

Newark always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .588. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Reynoldsburg only posted an OBP of .263.

Meanwhile, Lancaster waltzed into their game on Wednesday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They were the clear victors by a 23-4 margin over the Indians. Considering the Golden Gales have won 12 contests by more than six runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.

Lancaster's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-2. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.5 runs over those games. As for Newark, their record now sits at 5-11-1.

Newark suffered a grim 25-3 defeat to Lancaster when the teams last played two weeks ago. Can the Wildcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.