Softball Preview: Santa Fe Raiders vs. Palatka Panthers
Santa Fe is 8-2 against Palatka since March of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Santa Fe Raiders will be playing in front of their home fans against the Palatka Panthers at 7:00 p.m. The timing is sure in Santa Fe's favor as the squad sits on six straight wins at home while Palatka has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
Last Thursday, Santa Fe narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Keystone Heights 8-7. Eight seems to be a good number for Santa Fe as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
The team relied heavily on Gracie Mattson, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5. Another player making a difference was Maren Hornsby, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Palatka came up short against Ridgeview on Tuesday and fell 8-4.
Emily Brown was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-4 with a home run.
Even though they lost, Palatka didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with seven strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ridgeview only tossed three.
Santa Fe's victory bumped their record up to 9-2. As for Palatka, their loss dropped their record down to 3-8.
Palatka's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Santa Fe has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .493. It's a different story for Palatka, though, as they've only averaged .350. Will they be able to contain Santa Fe's hitters?
Santa Fe took their win against Palatka when the teams last played back in February by a conclusive 17-8. Does Santa Fe have another victory up their sleeve, or will Palatka turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
