Softball Preview: Mesa Ridge Grizzlies vs. Widefield Gladiators
On Wednesday Mesa Ridge will have to hit the road after three straight games at home. They will venture away from home to take on the Widefield Gladiators at 3:30 p.m. Mesa Ridge is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10.9 runs per game this season.
Mesa Ridge will head into Tuesday's contest out to bounce back: they came back down to earth on Tuesday after soaring to a 14-run game in their last game. They fell just short of Pueblo Centennial by a score of 9-7. The Grizzlies' defeat signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Emily Hawkins and Lillian Staszesky stepped up to the plate in a big way. Hawkins went 2-for-4 with four RBI and a double, while Staszesky scored two runs while going 3-for-3. The dominant performance also gave Staszesky a new career-high in hits. Kiana Steinhoff was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Even though they lost, Mesa Ridge didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with six strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pueblo Centennial only tossed three.
Meanwhile, Widefield waltzed into their match on Tuesday with seven straight wins... but they left with eight. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Cougars an 11-0 shutout. Considering the Gladiators have won nine matchups by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Olivia McEwen made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over five innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in 12 consecutive pitching appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Taylor Hall was incredible, going 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Brooke Foster, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Mesa Ridge's loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 11-4. As for Widefield, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season.
Wednesday's contest will be a test for both team's pitchers. Mesa Ridge hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of 0. However, it's not like Widefield struggles in that department as they've averaged 0. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Mesa Ridge beat Widefield 14-10 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mesa Ridge since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
