Softball Game Preview: McClatchy Lions vs. Bella Vista Broncos

The McClatchy Lions will square off against the Bella Vista Broncos at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (McClatchy has six straight victories, Bella Vista has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

While McClatchy's win against Kennedy wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Lions' pitcher stepped up to hand the Cougars a 2-0 shutout on Thursday.

The result came thanks to Madelyn Ogata's shutout, as she gave up just a hit and racked up seven Ks. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, McClatchy's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Anna Brereton, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.

McClatchy hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in six consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Bella Vista came up short against Vista del Lago on Friday and fell 6-3.

Hailey Shiflet spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and two unearned) runs on five hits and racked up 12 Ks. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 5.5 strikeouts per game.

McClatchy's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-2. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Bella Vista, they now have a losing record of 6-7.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. McClatchy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Bella Vista struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.