Softball Game Preview: Lubbock Westerners vs. Lubbock-Cooper Pirates

The Lubbock Westerners will head out to challenge the Lubbock-Cooper Pirates at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.

Lubbock came up short against Amarillo on Thursday, falling 17-10. The Westerners haven't had much luck with the Sandies recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.

Meanwhile, Lubbock-Cooper entered their tilt with Caprock on Thursday with four consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with five. They were the clear victor by a 17-3 margin over the Longhorns. Considering the Pirates have won nine games by more than eight runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.

Lubbock-Cooper got a great performance from Brooklyn Ray as she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. Ray has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Lainey Gibson was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Those four hits gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Addison Gunset, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3.

Lubbock-Cooper always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .568. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive matchups.

Lubbock-Cooper pushed their record up to 13-4 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Lubbock, their loss dropped their record down to 8-6-1.

Lubbock came up short against Lubbock-Cooper in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, falling 9-4. Can Lubbock avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.