Softball Game Preview: Nelsonville-York Buckeyes vs. River Valley Raiders

The Nelsonville-York Buckeyes will take on the River Valley Raiders at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The timing is sure in Nelsonville-York's favor as the team sits on six straight wins at home while River Valley has been banged up by seven consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.

On Thursday, Nelsonville-York made easy work of Miller and carried off a 15-3 victory. That's two games straight that the Buckeyes have won by exactly 12 runs.

Lilly Gura made a splash no matter where she played. She pitched five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and one double. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March.

Emmie Fowler

Stolen Base (Career)

04/24/25 vs Miller	2
04/23/25 vs Oak Hill	1
04/16/25 @ Athens	1
03/25/25 @ Berne Union	1
04/17/24 vs Vinton County	1

In other batting news, Nelsonville-York got a massive performance out of Emmie Fowler, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. Those two stolen bases gave Fowler a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Ava Nungester, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.

Meanwhile, River Valley can bid farewell to their four-game losing streak thanks to their game on Tuesday. They blew past Oak Hill 13-3. The contest marked the Raiders' most dominant win of the season.

Nelsonville-York is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for River Valley, their win bumped their record up to 3-9.

Nelsonville-York beat River Valley 8-5 in their previous meeting on April 9th. Do the Buckeyes have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Raiders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.