Softball Preview: Western Branch Bruins vs. Hickory Hawks
Western Branch is 1-8 against Hickory since March of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Western Branch Bruins will head out on the road to face off against the Hickory Hawks at 5:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Western Branch will head into Tuesday's matchup on the come-up: they were handed a two-run loss in their last contest, but they sure didn't let that happen against King's Fork on Tuesday. Western Branch's pitcher stepped up to hand King's Fork a 16-0 shutout. The high-scoring effort was just what Western Branch needed considering they were shutout in their previous game.
Ava Giacometti tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out ten over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Maddie Lemasters was incredible, going 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Ava Bingham was another key contributor, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Hickory entered their tilt with Lakeland with seven consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with eight. They blew past the Cavaliers 13-0.
Western Branch's win bumped their record up to 8-4. As for Hickory, they pushed their record up to 13-1-1 with that victory, which was their fourth straight on the road.
Western Branch came out on top in a nail-biter against Hickory in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, sneaking past 5-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for Western Branch since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
