Softball Preview: Borah Lions vs. Mountain View Mavericks
The Borah Lions will head out on the road to take on the Mountain View Mavericks at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Borah is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.3 runs per game this season.
Borah is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Idaho's top teams: Middleton, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (Borah was ranked 18th). Borah won by a run and slipped past Middleton 6-5.
Megan Meracle spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and four unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Rylee Nelson was incredible, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. Halle Fizer was another key contributor, going 1-for-4 with a home run.
Meanwhile, Mountain View put the finishing touches on their tenth blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Boise with a sharp 11-2 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Mountain View considering their one-run performance the game before.
Afton Janke and Kathryn Jackson made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Janke didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Jackson tossed three innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. At bat, Janke fired off two home runs and six RBI while going 2-for-4, while Jackson scored four runs while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Katy Tentinger and Kiersten Bangham did most of the damage at the plate: Tentinger went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Bangham scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Emily Castiglione, who scored a run while going 2-for-5.
Borah's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-4. As for Mountain View, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 13-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Borah hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Mountain View struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Borah came out on top in a nail-biter against Mountain View in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, sneaking past 2-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Borah since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
