Softball Game Preview: East Lincoln Mustangs vs. Hickory Red Tornadoes

Mustangs

Runs

03/13/25 @ Central Cabarrus	6
03/11/25 @ Hickory	14
03/06/25 vs Crest	1
02/26/25 vs West Lincoln	5

East Lincoln has gone a perfect 7-0 against Hickory recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The East Lincoln Mustangs will be playing at home against the Hickory Red Tornadoes at 6:00 p.m. East Lincoln is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.5 runs per game this season.

On Thursday, East Lincoln didn't have quite enough to beat Central Cabarrus and fell 7-6.

Peyton Passmore made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was Keylee Donaldson, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Hickory came up short against East Lincoln on Tuesday, falling 14-4. The Red Tornadoes haven't had much luck with the Mustangs recently, as the team has come up short the last seven times they've met.

Alyssa Wood put in work no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up three earned (and 11 unearned) runs off nine hits. Wood was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two RBI and one double.

Wood wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Layla Abernathy, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

East Lincoln's loss dropped their record down to 2-2. As for Hickory, they now have a losing record of 1-2.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. East Lincoln has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Hickory struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Everything went East Lincoln's way against Hickory in their previous meeting on Tuesday, as East Lincoln made off with a 14-4 victory. Will East Lincoln repeat their success, or does Hickory have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.