Softball Preview: Halls Red Devils vs. Gibbs Eagles
Halls is 2-8 against Gibbs since May of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Halls Red Devils will be playing in front of their home fans against the Gibbs Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Halls' pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Karns with a sharp 6-0 win.
Emery Bales made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. Bales has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 17 consecutive pitching appearances. Bales was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base, two RBI, and a double.
In other batting news, Makaylie Hutchison was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. Brielle Johnson was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Gibbs had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10 runs), and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They beat the Highlanders by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 15-0.
Gibbs let Addison Merritt and Taylor Selby loose on the outfield. Merritt went 2-for-2 with a home run, five RBI, and a double, while Selby scored three runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Jade Bell, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-1.
Halls has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 22-6 record this season. As for Gibbs, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-10.
Monday's match will be a test for both team's pitchers. Halls hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .344. However, it's not like Gibbs struggles in that department as they've averaged .359. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Halls was able to grind out a solid win over Gibbs in their previous matchup back in March, winning 4-1. Does Halls have another victory up their sleeve, or will Gibbs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
