Golden Bears
| 04/24/25 @ Billings Senior | 2 |
| 04/19/25 @ Butte | 14 |
| 04/19/25 vs Glacier | 3 |
| 04/15/25 @ Skyview | 7 |
| 04/10/25 @ Gallatin | 14 |
| + 6 more games |
Billings West is a perfect 9-0 against Gallatin since April of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Saturday. The Golden Bears will welcome the Raptors at 12:00 p.m. Billings West is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.2 runs per game this season.
Billings West is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Montana's top teams: Billings Senior, who was ranked fourth at the time (Billings West was ranked 12th). The Golden Bears took a 6-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Broncs on Thursday. Having soared to a lofty 14 runs in the game before, the Golden Bears couldn't push the score so high this time.
Tayten Abrams was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, one stolen base, and two RBI. Rylie Watt also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Gallatin gave up the first runs on Tuesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They walked away with a 12-9 victory over Great Falls. The Raptors haven't had any issues with the Bison recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Olivia Klemann was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out ten batters over 6.1 innings while giving up four earned runs off ten hits (and not a single walk). Those ten strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three runs, two RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, Zoe Bassham was incredible, going a perfect 5-for-5 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two). Another player making a difference was Kelly Coon, who went 3-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and one double.
Gallatin was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .462. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in five consecutive contests.
Gallatin's victory bumped their record up to 8-3. As for Billings West, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-4 record this season.
Gallatin's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Billings West has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.7 hits per game. It's a different story for Gallatin, though, as they've been averaging 10.2 hits. Given Billings West's sizable advantage in that area, the Raptors will need to find a way to close that gap.
Billings West took their win against Gallatin in their previous meeting two weeks ago by a conclusive 16-6 score. Will the Golden Bears repeat their success, or do the Raptors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
