The Rice Bulldogs will square off against the Athens Hornets at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Rice took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Wortham as Rice made off with a 9-2 win. The result was nothing new for Rice, who have now won three matches by seven runs or more so far this season.
Cadence Van Cleave spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on four hits and racked up 13 Ks.
On the hitting side, Sloan Cadena was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. She also hit a double, marking her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Halie Adams, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Rice was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .438. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in nine consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Athens). They put the hurt on Chapel Hill with a sharp 15-5 victory on Tuesday. The Hornets haven't had any issues with the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Rice's victory ended a five-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 5-1-1. As for Athens, their win bumped their record up to 6-2.
Rice suffered a grim 11-0 defeat to Athens in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. Will Rice have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
