Softball Preview: Mesa Ridge Grizzlies vs. Widefield Gladiators
Mesa Ridge has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Widefield Gladiators at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. 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 match eager for some revenge after what happened against Pueblo Centennial: Mesa Ridge blew Pueblo Centennial out of the water the last time the pair played, but on Tuesday Pueblo Centennial got their revenge. Mesa Ridge fell just short of Pueblo Centennial by a score of 9-7. The Grizzlies' loss signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Emily Hawkins and Lillian Staszesky did some serious damage despite the final result: Hawkins went 2-for-4 with four RBI and a double, while Staszesky scored two runs while going 3-for-3. What's more, Hawkins also racked up two hits, the mostshe's had since back in August. Riyah Boeugher was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
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 contest on Tuesday with seven straight wins... but they left with eight. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Cougars an 11-0 shutout. The Gladiators might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matchups by seven runs or more this season.
Olivia McEwen made a big impact while hitting and pitching. 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 big at the plate, 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 defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 11-4. As for Widefield, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Mesa Ridge hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Widefield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Mesa Ridge beat Widefield 14-10 in their previous matchup 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
