Softball Game Preview: Spring Lions vs. Aldine Mustangs

Spring has gone a perfect 10-0 against Aldine recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Lions will welcome the Mustangs at 6:30 p.m. Spring knows how to get runs on the board -- the team has finished with ten runs or more in their past 11 matchups -- so hopefully Aldine likes a good challenge.

If Spring beats Aldine with 18 runs on Thursday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. The Lions didn't even let Nimitz on the board on Tuesday, marking the Lions' second-straight 18-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Lions, who have now won 12 games by ten runs or more so far this season.

Mikayla Zepeda looked comfortable as she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 15 consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Spring let Maleah Grounds and Hailey Jones-Calais run wild. Grounds scored four runs and stole six bases while going 3-for-3, while Jones-Calais went 2-for-3 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. With that strong performance, Grounds is now averaging an impressive 1.1 stolen bases per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Keona Jackson, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.

Spring was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .591. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .429 or higher in seven consecutive matches.

Aldine had taken Eisenhower down for two straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Tuesday. The Mustangs lost 14-7 to the Eagles.

Spring is on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 16 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Aldine, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-17.

Everything went Spring's way against Aldine in their previous matchup back in March, as Spring made off with a 16-0 victory. Do the Lions have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Mustangs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.