Softball Game Preview: Grandview Zebras vs. Rice Bulldogs

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Previous 4 Games

03/29/18 - Away	16-2 W
02/26/18 - Home	17-2 W
03/31/17 - Home	13-0 W
02/28/17 - Away	17-1 W

Grandview has gone a perfect 4-0 against Rice recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The Zebras will be playing at home against the Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Grandview has nine straight victories, Rice has seven straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Grandview barely beat Salado the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Zebras' pitchers stepped up to hand the Eagles a 10-0 shutout on Saturday. The result was nothing new for the Zebras, who have now won 16 matchups by seven runs or more so far this season.

Meanwhile, Rice started off well but failed to capitalize on an early lead against Scurry-Rosser. They fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 8-7 on Friday.

Cadence Van Cleave spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and six unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up six Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Halie Adams made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. That home run marked the first that she launched this season. Another player making a difference was Sammie Lewis, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base.

Grandview's win was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-3. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.6 runs over those games. As for Rice, their loss dropped their record down to 8-8-1.

Everything went Grandview's way against Rice in their previous meeting back in March of 2018, as Grandview made off with a 16-2 win. Do the Zebras have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bulldogs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.