Softball Game Preview: Maplewood Rockets vs. Pymatuning Valley Lakers

Maplewood is 0-5 against Pymatuning Valley since April of 2022 but things could change on Thursday. The Rockets will be playing in front of their home fans against the Lakers at 5:20 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Maplewood came out on top against Harding on Tuesday thanks in part to the team's impressive eight-run second inning. The Rockets blew past the Skippers 16-2. The win continues a trend for the Rockets in their matchups with the Skippers: they've now won five in a row.

The team relied heavily on Claire Urchek, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Raegan Krieg, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs and one triple.

Maplewood was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .519. The last time their batting average was this high was back in April of 2024.

Meanwhile, Pymatuning Valley had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. Everything went their way against the Skippers as they made off with a 14-2 victory.

Maplewood's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-3. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.7 runs over those games. As for Pymatuning Valley, their win bumped their record up to 10-3-1.

Maplewood might still be hurting after the 12-0 loss they got from Pymatuning Valley in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will the Rockets have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.