The Good Hope Raiders will square off against the East Limestone Indians at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Good Hope: 3.8, East Limestone: 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Good Hope's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Vinemont as Good Hope made off with a 7-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Raiders, who have now won three contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
Not much got past Molly Benefield, who gave up just two hits and racked up 14 Ks to keep Vinemont off the board. That's the fewest hits Benefield has allowed since back in April of 2024.
Natalie Miller
| 02/27/25 @ Vinemont | 3 |
| 02/14/25 @ Oak Grove | 2 |
| 04/08/24 @ East Lawrence | 2 |
| 04/01/24 vs Cold Springs | 1 |
| 02/29/24 @ Oakman | 1 |
At the plate, Natalie Miller was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run and three runs. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in runs. Kylee Smith also deserves some recognition as she brought in her first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, East Limestone won against Randolph School on Thursday with 16 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Friday. East Limestone beat Decatur by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 16-4. The win was just business as usual for the Indians, who after four games remain undefeated this season.
Molly Thompson looked comfortable as she tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Lara Looney, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with six RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Scarlett Brown was another key player, scoring four runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
East Limestone hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts every time they've taken the field this season.
The victory made it two in a row for Good Hope and bumps their season record up to 4-3-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for East Limestone, their record is now 4-0.
Saturday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Good Hope hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .379. However, it's not like East Limestone struggles in that department as they've averaged .405. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
