Softball Game Preview: Woodmore Wildcats vs. Gibsonburg Golden Bears

The Woodmore Wildcats will square off against the Gibsonburg Golden Bears at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Woodmore is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Lakota with a sharp 15-2 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Wildcats.

Meanwhile, Gibsonburg got themselves on the board against Margaretta on Tuesday, but Margaretta never followed suit. They blew past the Polar Bears 19-0. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Golden Bears considering their two-run performance the contest before.

Alivia Wauford made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base and two RBI. That stolen base marked the first that she has snagged this season.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ansley Fleming, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four runs, two stolen bases, and three RBI. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April. Cheyenne Reese was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.

Gibsonburg always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .714. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Gibsonburg is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-7 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for Woodmore, their record now sits at 9-3.

Woodmore suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Gibsonburg in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Can the Wildcats avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.