Tipton is 2-8 against Western since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Blue Devils will hit the road for the first time this season to take on the Panthers at 5:30 p.m.
Tipton is leaving town to face Western after disappointing their home crowd in their season opener. The Blue Devils fell 11-7 to Kokomo on Tuesday.
Ella Lobeck was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. She tossed 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off three hits. That's the fewest hits she has allowed since back in April of 2024. She was even better at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, Lacey Bitner was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one triple and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Makenna Comer, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Western entered their tilt with Eastern on Tuesday with nine consecutive wins dating back to last season, and they'll enter their next game with ten. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Comets an 18-0 shutout.
Not much got past Kylie Miller, who gave up just a hit and racked up 13 Ks to keep Eastern off the board.
On the hitting side, Western got a massive performance out of Lucy George, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. What's more, George posted two doubles, the most she's had since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Brynley Erb, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two triples, three runs, and three RBI.
Western always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .595. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Eastern only posted an OBP of .167.
Tipton suffered a grim 14-0 defeat to Western when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Blue Devils avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
