Softball Game Preview: Spruce Mountain Phoenix vs. Winthrop Ramblers

The Spruce Mountain Phoenix are taking a road trip to take on the Winthrop Ramblers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Spruce Mountain is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.8 runs per game this season.

Spruce Mountain is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 11 runs on Monday, they were much more limited against Hall-Dale on Wednesday. They fell just short of the Bulldogs by a score of 2-1. The match marked the Phoenix's lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Rylee Turner spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on eight hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.

Santika Hodgkin

Stolen Base

05/14/25 vs Hall-Dale	1
05/12/25 @ Madison	1
05/09/25 vs Dirigo	1
05/05/25 @ Waterville	2
04/30/25 vs Fryeburg	1
+ 3 more games

At the plate, Spruce Mountain saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Santika Hodgkin, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. Hodgkin is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: she's snagged at least one every time she's taken the field this season.

Meanwhile, Winthrop lost 16-10 to Madison on Wednesday. The Ramblers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Spruce Mountain dropped their record down to 4-4 with the loss, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the defeats came by an average of only five runs. As for Winthrop, their loss dropped their record down to 1-3.

Spruce Mountain skirted past Winthrop 10-9 in their previous matchup back in May of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Phoenix since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.