Softball Preview: Liberty Lancers vs. Air Academy Kadets
Liberty has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Air Academy Kadets at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Air Academy took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Liberty, who comes in off a win.
Liberty will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Pueblo West, who they hadn't topped in three consecutive meetings. Liberty came out on top in a nail-biter against Pueblo West on Thursday, sneaking past 8-7.
Layla North spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and four unearned) runs on 12 hits.
On the hitting side, Grace Joiner was excellent, scoring three runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Terika Rubiero, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Air Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their 11th straight defeat. They fell 23-19 to Lewis-Palmer.
Keira Finkle and Kylen Tucker stepped up to the plate in a big way. Finkle went 3-for-5 with a home run, five runs, and five runs, while Tucker went 5-for-5 with a home run, three runs, and three runs. What's more, Tucker also racked up five hits, the mostshe's had since back in August. Another player making a difference was Rideau Dravida, who went 2-for-5 with a home run, three runs, and three runs.
Even though they lost, Air Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .520. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Liberty is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. As for Air Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 3-15.
Air Academy's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Liberty has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.8 hits per game. It's a different story for Air Academy, though, as they've been averaging 9.1. Given Liberty's sizable advantage in that area, Air Academy will need to find a way to close that gap.
Liberty suffered a grim 17-3 defeat to Air Academy in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Can Liberty avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
