Softball Game Preview: Alliance Aviators vs. McKinley Bulldogs

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Previous 3 Games

05/06/24 - Home	16-7 W
04/24/24 - Away	20-5 W
04/03/23 - Home	12-1 W

Alliance is a perfect 3-0 against McKinley since April of 2023 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Aviators will look to defend their home field against the Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. Alliance is coming into the game on a five-game losing streak.

Alliance lost 26-4 to Field on Saturday.

Lily White was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.

Meanwhile, McKinley got the win against Firestone on Thursday by a conclusive 9-3. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matchups by six runs or more this season.

Hailey Smith made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing three bases while going 2-for-3. Those stolen bases marked the first that she snagged this season.

In other batting news, Justice Morgan was a standout: she scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Elijahne Smith, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.

McKinley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

McKinley is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Alliance, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-7.

Everything went Alliance's way against McKinley in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as Alliance made off with a 16-7 win. Will the Aviators repeat their success, or do the Bulldogs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.