Softball Game Preview: Hanover Hawks vs. Atlee Raiders

Hanover has gone 9-1 against Atlee recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Hawks will challenge the Raiders at 6:00 p.m. Atlee took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Hanover, who comes in off a win.

Hanover not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since May 1, 2024. They blew past King George 9-1. The win continues a trend for the Hawks in their matchups with the Foxes: they've now won four in a row.

Kaileigh Byars

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/14/25 @ King George	3
03/19/25 vs Deep Run	2
05/24/24 vs Caroline	2
05/10/24 @ Patrick Henry	2
05/09/24 @ Deep Run	2

Hanover let Marisa Sawn and Kaileigh Byars run wild. Sawn fired off two home runs and three RBI while going 2-for-4, while Byars went 3-for-5 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Those three RBI gave Byars a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Willow Dickenson, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Hanover was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .441. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Atlee unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell 5-1 to Deep Run. Having soared to a lofty 20 runs in the game before, the Raiders couldn't push the score so high this time.

Camdyn Metts was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 3-for-4. Izzie Turnauer also deserves some recognition as she brought in her first RBI of the season.

Hanover's record is now 2-3. As for Atlee, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-3.

Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Hanover hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Atlee struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.

Hanover couldn't quite get it done against Atlee in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 as they fell 5-2. Can the Hawks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.