The Olympic Heights Lions will venture away from home to square off against the Palm Beach Central Broncos at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Olympic Heights has given up an average of 14.2 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Olympic Heights is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 12 runs two weeks ago, they were much more limited against Boca Raton on Wednesday. They lost 15-0 to the Bobcats. That's two games in a row now that the Lions have lost by exactly 15 runs.
Meanwhile, Palm Beach Central waltzed into their game on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They blew past the Crusaders 17-6. Considering the Broncos have won five contests by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Kacie Riggan made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over six innings while giving up five earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in February. She was even better at the plate, getting on base in three of her five plate appearances with one home run and five RBI.
In other batting news, Sara Spidalieri was incredible, going 3-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and one double. That double marked the first that she hit this season. Another player making a difference was Alexia Sullo, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3.
Palm Beach Central kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 12.
Palm Beach Central pushed their record up to 8-4 with the win, which was their seventh straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.9 runs on average over those games. As for Olympic Heights, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 5-5 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Olympic Heights has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Palm Beach Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Olympic Heights suffered a grim 27-12 defeat to Palm Beach Central in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Can the Lions avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
