Softball Preview: Liberty Lions vs. Deer Valley Wolverines
Liberty is 10-0 against Deer Valley since May of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Liberty Lions will head out on the road to face off against the Deer Valley Wolverines at 4:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Liberty has ten straight wins, Deer Valley has 14 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Liberty can now show off four landslide victories after their most recent match on Thursday. They blew past Antioch 13-0. While fans of Liberty might be used to big wins, the 13-run margin marked the team's biggest one yet.
Kate Skinner was a major factor no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 13 over five innings pitched. Skinner has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Skinner was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with a home run and six RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Madison Tuttle, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was Jewel Cooper, who went 2-for-4 with a home run.
Meanwhile, Deer Valley scored the most runs they've had all season on Monday, but it wasn't enough. Their tough 17-7 loss to Miramonte might stick with them for a while.
Daejah Matier made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2. Rosalyn Zermeno was another key contributor, going 1-for-2 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Liberty's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-2. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs per game. As for Deer Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-11.
Deer Valley's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Liberty hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .350. It's a different story for Deer Valley, though, as they've only averaged .174. Will they be able to contain Liberty's hitters?
Everything went Liberty's way against Deer Valley when the teams last played back in April of 2023 as Liberty made off with a 9-1 win. Will Liberty repeat their success, or does Deer Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
