Softball Game Preview: Padua Franciscan Bruins vs. Holy Name Green Wave

Padua Franciscan is 1-6 against Holy Name since May of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Bruins will square off against the Green Wave at 5:00 p.m.

Padua Franciscan came into this matchup off a tough ten-run defeat on Wednesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy by a score of 2-0 on Thursday. Considering the last time the Bruins couldn't score was back in April, the team can't take the result too hard.

The scorekeeper got an easy start on Thursday as neither Holy Name nor Norton made it on the board until the fifth inning. The Green Wave came out on top in a nail-biter against the Panthers, sneaking past 3-1.

Reagan Vavro and Maura Mihalik were major factors while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Vavro tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Mihalik pitched seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. At the plate, Vavro went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and one double, while Mihalik got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one stolen base. Those three RBI gave Vavro a new career-high.

In other batting news, Kylee Blinky was excellent, going 1-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run. Bailey Garlow was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.

Holy Name is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-3 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.6 runs on average over those games. As for Padua Franciscan, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 8-10.

Padua Franciscan couldn't quite get it done against Holy Name in their previous meeting back in April as they fell 14-9. Can the Bruins avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.