Softball Game Preview: Bunker Hill Bears vs. Newton-Conover Red Devils

Bunker Hill has gone 9-1 against Newton-Conover recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Bears will challenge the Red Devils at 5:00 p.m. Bunker Hill's pitching crew has only allowed 3.1 runs per game this season, so Newton-Conover's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

If Bunker Hill beats Newton-Conover with seven runs on Thursday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. The Bears beat Maiden on Wednesday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 7-3. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bears.

Serena Thurman

Batters Struck Out

04/09/25 vs Maiden	9
04/04/25 @ East Burke	12
04/02/25 @ Alexander Central	12
04/01/25 vs West Lincoln	9
03/28/25 vs West Caldwell	11
+ 7 more games

Serena Thurman made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one home run and one stolen base.

In other batting news, Alexis Stuebe was incredible, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one double. That triple marked the first that she hit this season.

Meanwhile, Newton-Conover was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their 11th straight defeat. They came up short against Bandys, falling 18-1.

Bunker Hill's victory was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-4. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Newton-Conover, their loss dropped their record down to 2-13.

Bunker Hill took their victory against Newton-Conover when the teams last played back in March by a conclusive 11-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.