Softball Preview: Eagle Valley Devils vs. Northridge Grizzlies
Eagle Valley is 0-3 against Northridge since September of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Eagle Valley Devils will challenge the Northridge Grizzlies at 5:00 p.m. Eagle Valley will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.
Eagle Valley will bounce into Friday's game after beating Rifle, who they hadn't topped in nine consecutive meetings. Eagle Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against Rifle on Tuesday, sneaking past 4-3. That's two games straight that the Devils have won by just one run.
Phedre Kempton spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on eight hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ellia Blakey, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last five games she's played dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Allie Braun, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Northridge). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Greeley Central a 21-0 shutout on Tuesday. Considering the Grizzlies have won five matches by more than nine runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Bailey McGeen was incredible, going 3-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and a triple. The team also got some help courtesy of Naomi Propes, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Northridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .727. The last time their OBP was this high was back in August of 2023.
Eagle Valley is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-2 record this season. As for Northridge, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 5-2.
Eagle Valley suffered a grim 12-2 defeat to Northridge when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Can Eagle Valley avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
