Softball Preview: Lakeridge Pacers vs. Oregon City Pioneers
Lakeridge is 1-9 against Oregon City since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Lakeridge Pacers will be playing at home against the Oregon City Pioneers at 6:30 p.m. Both teams have allowed few runs on average, (Lakeridge: 3.5, Oregon City: 1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Friday, Lakeridge needed a bit of extra time to put away Tualatin. They skirted past the Timberwolves 4-3.
DELANEY HOYLE spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits and racked up eight Ks. Those eight innings set a new season-high mark for her.
On the hitting side, FINLEY DICKSON was incredible, going 1-for-3 with a home run and two runs.
Meanwhile, Oregon City put the finishing touches on their sixth blowout victory of the season on Monday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Tigard a 10-0 shutout. Oregon City's victory was all the more impressive since Tigard was averaging only 3.25 runs allowed on the season.
Not much got past Ellie Joseph, who gave up just three hits and racked up 14 Ks to keep Tigard off the board. Joseph has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in eight consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Ally Pagel was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Chloe Grimmer was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Lakeridge has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. As for Oregon City, they pushed their record up to 15-2 with that win, which was their sixth straight at home.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lakeridge has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Oregon City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Lakeridge came up short against Oregon City when the teams last played last Friday, falling 4-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Oregon City's Lily Riley, who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out 16 over seven innings pitched. Now that Lakeridge knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
