The Boardman Spartans will take on the Mineral Ridge Rams at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Boardman comes in on seven and Mineral Ridge on six.
Boardman is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Ohio's top teams: Champion, who was ranked 22nd at the time (Boardman was ranked tenth). The Spartans won by a run and slipped past the Golden Flashes 2-1.
Tori Strines spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up eight Ks.
On the hitting side, Boardman's win was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ava Freeborough, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Another was Addie Rudge, who went 1-for-4 with one home run.
Meanwhile, Mineral Ridge made easy work of Springfield on Tuesday and carried off a 16-2 victory. The Rams might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matchups by ten runs or more this season.
Laney Rigley was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and one stolen base. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April of 2024. Maddie Gerberry was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run.
Mineral Ridge was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .600. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .348 or higher in four consecutive contests.
Boardman's win was their eighth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-2. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. As for Mineral Ridge, their win bumped their record up to 11-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Boardman hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.9 home runs per game. However, it's not like Mineral Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
