Softball Preview: Old Lyme Wildcats vs. North Branford Thunderbirds
Old Lyme has enjoyed the comforts of home their last seven games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against the North Branford Thunderbirds at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Old Lyme sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 win over Haddam-Killingworth.
Emma Bayor spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on nine hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts every time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, Old Lyme's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Anna Eichholz, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, North Branford can now show off 15 landslide victories after their most recent contest on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Coginchaug Regional with a sharp 7-1 win. Winning may never get old, but North Branford sure is getting used to it with their third in a row.
North Branford also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Kiley Mullins gave up one run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up seven Ks.
On the hitting side, Natalia Lucibello was excellent, going 2-for-4 with a triple and a run. Adriana Hills was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
Old Lyme's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-4. As for North Branford, they are on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 19-3 record this season.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Old Lyme has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.5 hits per game. However, it's not like North Branford struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 3.6. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Old Lyme came up short against North Branford in their previous matchup on May 2nd, falling 4-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Mullins, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. Now that Old Lyme 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
