Tonight, I'll be covering Class AAA, Region 4, Section 2 softball at St. Albans, as the double-elimination postseason tournament begins.
St. Albans will face Nitro at 5 p.m., with the loser to meet Logan 30 minutes after the completion of the first game.
The Red Dragons are the obvious favorite among the three teams as St. Albans enters with a 24-4 regular season record.
Seniors Ali Haynes and Mariah Caudill lead St. Albans offensively and defensively, with both among the Kanawha Valley's top hitters and Haynes one of the best pitchers and Caudill one of the best catchers.
Haynes ranks first in the Valley with wins (23-4) and innings pitched (152), according to statistics published this week by The Daily Mail. Haynes ranked second in the Valley with 146 strikeouts and fifth in ERA (1.20).
At the plate, Haynes ranks third on the Red Dragons roster with a .446 batting average, which includes 37 hits in 83 at-bats. Haynes lists ninth in the Valley in RBI at 32. She also ranks second in doubles with 15. Additionally, Haynes has three home runs and three triples this season.
Meanwhile, Caudill ranks second on the team in hitting with a .455 average, with 40 hits in 88 at-bats. Caudill ranks first in the Valley with nine triples and second in RBI (44). In addition, she has blasted three home runs this year.
Madi Marshall represents St. Albans top hitter for average (.467) -- 35 hits in 75 at-bats. That ranks ninth-best in the Valley.
Other Red Dragons among the Valley's statistical leaders include Halli McCown with 24 RBI and Alyssa Bonham, who has 14 stolen bases -- fifth-best in the Valley.
With such offensive firepower and Haynes in the circle, it's not expected Nitro will give St. Albans much trouble. St. Albans swept three games from Nitro in the regular season with wins 12-5, 10-0 and 7-1.
To be honest, I don't know much about the Nitro program, as I haven't covered them this season. Looking at Kanawha Valley leaders, it appears either they have no one ranked among the leaders or at least did not report any statistics. It's actually unknown what the team's true record is. The Daily Mail reports Nitro at 10-15, while the WVSSAC website lists the Wildcats as 9-16.
As for Logan, it's another team I do not know much about. From looking at the schedule of results from this season at the WVSSAC website, it appears Logan has shown flashes of potential.
Logan (11-15) defeated Lincoln County 3-2 on April 5, but lost 13-3 and 8-0 in subsequent games with Lincoln. Logan also gave regional power Herbert Hoover a tough game in an eventual 3-2 loss April 6. Additionally, Logan split a doubleheader with Buffalo earlier in the regular season.
So, for tonight, I expect St. Albans to handily defeat Nitro in the first game. That means Nitro will face Logan in the night cap where I expect Logan to prevail.
If that holds true, Nitro will be eliminated and Logan will advance to play St. Albans in a best-of-three series for the sectional championship.
No matter the outcome, I'm looking forward to some great softball tonight. For a full recap of the action, check my article in Thursday's sports section of The Daily Mail. I'll also have some additional coverage here on Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment