Softball Game Preview: Badger Braves vs. Lordstown Red Devils

Badger is a perfect 6-0 against Lordstown since May of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Braves will be playing at home against the Red Devils at 5:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Badger has three straight wins, Lordstown has 14 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Badger gave up the first runs on Wednesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They came out on top against Grand Valley by a score of 9-6.

Samantha Bradbury was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up five earned (and one unearned) runs off 11 hits. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 5.4 strikeouts per game. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run. That stolen base marked the first that she has snagged this season.

Skylar Demarco

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/30/25 @ Grand Valley	4
04/24/25 @ Windham	2
04/17/25 vs Harding	2
04/28/25 @ Harding	1
04/14/25 @ Harding	1

In other batting news, Skylar Demarco was a standout: she went 2-for-4 with four RBI and two doubles. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Riley Thomas, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.

Badger kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They are 4-1 when they post 11 or more hits.

Meanwhile, Lordstown scored the most runs they've had this season on Tuesday, but it wasn't enough. They fell 20-17 to Harding.

Badger pushed their record up to 6-5 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Lordstown, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-10.

Everything went Badger's way against Lordstown in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as Badger made off with an 11-1 victory. Will the Braves repeat their success, or do the Red Devils have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.