Softball Preview: Old Lyme Wildcats vs. North Branford Thunderbirds
Old Lyme has been on the road for three straight, but on Thursday they'll finally head home. They will take on the North Branford Thunderbirds at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Old Lyme is headed into the match fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Westbrook with a sharp 19-1 win on Wednesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded Old Lyme with their most commanding win of the season.
Old Lyme got a massive performance out of Ava Roth, who scored five runs while going 3-for-4. Roth hasn't dropped below three hits for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Grace Phaneuf, who scored four runs while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, North Branford's hitters rose to the challenge against a Cougars pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.69 runs allowed on Wednesday. North Branford's pitcher stepped up to hand Haddam-Killingworth a 14-0 shutout. The victory made it back-to-back wins for North Branford.
Not much got past Kiley Mullins, who gave up just six hits to keep Haddam-Killingworth off the board.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Natalia Lucibello, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Adriana Hills, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and a double.
Old Lyme pushed their record up to 10-1 with that victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. As for North Branford, their win bumped their record up to 11-2.
Thursday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Old Lyme has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .510. However, it's not like North Branford struggles in that department as they've averaged .540. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
