Softball Preview: Beckman Patriots vs. Northwood Timberwolves
Beckman has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge the Northwood Timberwolves at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Beckman is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.3 runs per game this season.
On Tuesday, everything went Beckman's way against Irvine as Beckman made off with a 7-1 victory. The win was just what Beckman needed coming off of a 10-0 loss in their prior matchup.
Kiyomi Okamoto made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Okamoto has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances. Okamoto was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gracie Barios, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Madison Heimann, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 15 runs the game before, Northwood was a bit more limited in their contest two weeks ago. They fell 6-1 to Santa Margarita. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest runs Northwood has scored all season.
Riley Bajorek spent all seven innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and four unearned) runs on seven hits.
On the hitting side, Northwood saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Natalie Keith, who went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Beckman's victory bumped their record up to 8-5-3. As for Northwood, their defeat ended a six-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 5-2.
Beckman came out on top in a nail-biter against Northwood in their previous matchup on March 4th, sneaking past 8-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for Beckman since the team 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
