Softball Preview: Brighton Bengals vs. Olympus Titans
The Brighton Bengals will be playing in front of their home fans against the Olympus Titans at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Brighton is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.
Brighton is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering West just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell 7-3 to the Panthers.
Alison Nikolaus was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up four earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits. Nikolaus has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances. Nikolaus was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a triple, a double, and an RBI.
In other batting news, Dalila Romero was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times she's played. Audrey Fleckenstein was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, in what's become a running theme this season, Olympus gave their fans yet another huge win on Thursday. Everything went their way against Skyline as Olympus made off with an 11-1 victory. Winning may never get old, but Olympus sure is getting used to it with their eighth in a row.
Like Brighton, Olympus also got a great game from a two-way player: Charlie Turner. She struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Turner was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Eliza Johnson, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, five RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Adison Comer, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI, a run, and a double.
Brighton's defeat dropped their record down to 9-13. As for Olympus, they pushed their record up to 12-8 with that win, which was their eighth straight at home.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Brighton has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Olympus struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Brighton couldn't quite finish off Olympus in their previous matchup back in March and fell 4-2. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Turner, who struck out 15 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Now that Brighton knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
