Softball Game Preview: Oak Glen Golden Bears vs. St. Marys Blue Devils

The Oak Glen Golden Bears will head out to square off against the St. Marys Blue Devils at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Oak Glen's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so St. Marys' hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Oak Glen is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of West Virginia's top teams: University, who was ranked ninth at the time (Oak Glen was ranked 11th). The Golden Bears took an 11-7 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Hawks on Wednesday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Addie Smith was cooking despite her team's loss, going 3-for-4 with two runs.

Meanwhile, St. Marys came tearing into Tuesday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 1-0 W against the Red Devils. Give the Blue Devils' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.

Ravenswood's batters probably weren't too happy with Cali Masters, who pitched a no hitter (she gave up zero walks). Masters has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in nine consecutive appearances.

St. Marys pushed their record up to 25-5 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for Oak Glen, their loss ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 25-10.

Oak Glen took their victory against St. Marys when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 14-0 score. Do the Golden Bears have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Blue Devils turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.