The Liberty Union Lions will face off against the Licking Heights Hornets at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Liberty Union comes in on 15 and Licking Heights on four.
Liberty Union's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They won by a run and slipped past Logan Elm 1-0. The one-run effort marked the Lions' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Licking Heights). They blew past Northridge 25-5 on Wednesday. The Hornets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven contests by six runs or more this season.
Natalie Mahoney made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in both of her plate appearances with two runs. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, Licking Heights got a massive performance out of Lily Meidl, who went 4-for-6 with one home run, five RBI, and three runs. That's the most hits Meidl has posted since back in March of 2024. Alissa West was another key player, going 5-for-6 with four runs, three RBI, and two doubles.
Licking Heights kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 18 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in six consecutive matches.
Liberty Union's victory was their 14th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 21-1. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.5 runs over those games. As for Licking Heights, their victory bumped their record up to 12-8.
Everything went Liberty Union's way against Licking Heights when the teams last played back in April of 2016, as Liberty Union made off with an 11-1 win. Will the Lions repeat their success, or do the Hornets have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
