The Lightridge Bolts will challenge the John Champe Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lightridge has seven straight wins, John Champe has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Tuesday, Lightridge was able to grind out a solid victory over Loudoun County, taking the game 6-2.
Peyton Robinson
| 04/08/25 @ Loudoun County | 10 |
| 04/03/25 vs Loudoun Valley | 5 |
| 04/01/25 @ Woodgrove | 12 |
| 03/28/25 @ Paul VI | 14 |
| 03/21/25 @ South Lakes | 9 |
| 03/17/25 vs Freedom | 14 |
Peyton Robinson made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run. That home run was her first of the season.
In other batting news, Lightridge let Maya Thaivalappil and Riley Thomas run wild. Thaivalappil went 1-for-4 with one home run and one stolen base, while Thomas went 2-for-4 with one home run. That stolen base marked the first that Thaivalappil snagged this season. Emmi Harris was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Lightridge kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Loudoun County only managed five hits.
Meanwhile, John Champe came up short against Heritage on Thursday, falling 20-3.
Ally Schwarz was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-2 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Lightridge pushed their record up to 7-0 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for John Champe, their loss dropped their record down to 0-3.
John Champe's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lightridge has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.4 hits per game. It's a different story for John Champe, though, as they've been averaging 14.7 hits. Given Lightridge's sizable advantage in that area, the Knights will need to find a way to close that gap.
Lightridge beat John Champe 5-0 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will the Bolts repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
