Softball Preview: Bend Lava Bears vs. South Medford Panthers
The Bend Lava Bears will head out on the road to face off against the South Medford Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Bend will be looking to extend their current 16-game winning streak.
Bend is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Oregon's top teams: The Dalles, who was ranked fifth in their home state at the time (Bend was ranked 23rd). Bend came out on top against The Dalles by a score of 8-3 on Tuesday.
Addisen Fisher was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She struck out 12 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). Fisher has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive pitching appearances. Fisher was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, Bend got a massive performance out of Isabella Lauerman, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI. Bryanna Schaefer was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought contest, but South Medford had to settle for a 5-4 defeat against North Medford last Tuesday. South Medford has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Bend pushed their record up to 19-6 with that win, which was their tenth straight at home. As for South Medford, they now have a losing record at 9-10.
Bend took their victory against South Medford in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 6-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Bend since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
