Softball Preview: Monroe Golden Tornadoes vs. Dougherty Trojans
Monroe hasn't had much luck against Dougherty recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Monroe Golden Tornadoes will take on the Dougherty Trojans at 5:30 p.m. Monroe knows how to get runs on the board -- the team has finished with ten runs or more in their past three matches -- so hopefully Dougherty likes a good challenge.
Last Thursday, Monroe got the win against Westover by a conclusive 23-14. With that victory, the Golden Tornadoes brought their scoring average up to 7.1 runs per game.
Monroe got a massive performance out of Ny'Kerria Williams, who scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave Williams a new career-high in hits. Another player making a difference was Amari Lee, who scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Monroe always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .810. That's a new trend for them: their average OBP was 27.7% earlier this season, but in their last five matchups they've averaged 61.3%.
Meanwhile, Dougherty fell victim to Pelham and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They came up short against the Hornets, falling 15-0. The Trojans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Monroe's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-11-1. As for Dougherty, their loss dropped their record down to 3-19.
Wednesday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Monroe has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of 0. However, it's not like Dougherty struggles in that department as they've averaged 0. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Monroe suffered a grim 31-4 defeat to Dougherty in their previous matchup back in September. Can Monroe avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
