The Cleveland Blue Raiders will take on the Girls Prep Bruisers at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Cleveland is headed into the contest having just suffered their closest defeat since April 23, 2024 on Wednesday. They fell just short of Chattanooga Christian by a score of 9-7.
Lilly Mason was cooking despite her team's loss, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one triple, one run, and one RBI. Landri Nelson was another key player, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Girls Prep waltzed into their match on Tuesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Fighting Irish a 4-0 shutout. While the Bruisers didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-12), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Not much got past Addison Smith, who gave up just a hit to keep Knoxville Catholic off the board. What's more, Smith posted five strikeouts, the most she's had since March 3rd.
At the plate, Jayla Gladden was excellent, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Sky Marshall, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Girls Prep pushed their record up to 10-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. As for Cleveland, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 7-7.
Thursday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Cleveland hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .323. However, it's not like Girls Prep struggles in that department as they've averaged .409. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Cleveland was able to grind out a solid win over Girls Prep when the teams last played back in March of 2024, winning 8-5. Will Cleveland repeat their success, or does Girls Prep has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
