Softball Preview: Central City Bison vs. Ponca Indians
Central City is 3-0 against Ponca since October of 2022, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Central City Bison will face off against the Ponca Indians at 10:45 a.m. Central City is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season.
Central City is headed into the matchup having just suffered their closest defeat since October 2, 2023 on Thursday. They fell just short of Aurora by a score of 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Bison have suffered against the Huskies since September 19, 2020.
Payton Burbach spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and two unearned) runs on eight hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than seven innings in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Journi Schindler was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Juno Ryan, who went 2-for-4 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.
Meanwhile, Ponca lost 11-5 to North Bend Central on Thursday. The Indians have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Lyndsee Waldee and Gracie Coughlin did some serious damage despite the final result: Waldee scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4, while Coughlin scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance gave Coughlin a new career-high in hits.
Central City's defeat dropped their record down to 9-8. As for Ponca, their loss dropped their record down to 4-11.
Ponca's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Central City has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Ponca, though, as they've been averaging only 3.2. Will Central City keep running through batters, or will Ponca buck the trend?
Everything went Central City's way against Ponca when the teams last played back in September of 2023 as Central City made off with a 6-0 victory. Will Central City repeat their success, or does Ponca have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
