Softball Game Preview: Sandwich Indians vs. Earlville Red Raiders

The Sandwich Indians will venture away from home to challenge the Earlville Red Raiders at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.

Sandwich is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Woodstock on Thursday as they made off with a 14-1 victory. The high-scoring effort was just what the Indians needed considering they were shut out in their previous contest.

Brooklyn Marks made a splash no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.

In other batting news, Sandwich let Kayden Corneils and Abigail Johnson run wild. Corneils went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base, while Johnson went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Those two runs gave Johnson a new career-high. Hannah Decker also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.

Sandwich always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .559. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Earlville waltzed into their game on Monday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They blew past the Hawks 8-1. The Red Raiders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matches by seven runs or more this season.

Earlville pushed their record up to 10-7 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.4 runs over those games. As for Sandwich, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-9 record this season.

Sandwich was able to grind out a solid win over Earlville in their previous meeting back in April of 2022, winning 8-4. Do the Indians have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Red Raiders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.