Softball Game Preview: Summerville Bears vs. Riverbank Bruins

The Summerville Bears will venture away from home to face off against the Riverbank Bruins at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Riverbank took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Summerville, who comes in off a win.

Summerville was handed a seven-run loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Big Valley Christian 4-3.

Madelyn Nikiforuk spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on eight hits.

On the hitting side, Summerville's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Abigail Minick, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Riverbank was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their 19th straight defeat. They came up short against Bret Harte, falling 11-5.

Maya Guzman put in work while hitting and pitching. She struck out ten batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and ten unearned) runs off nine hits (and only one walk). She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double.

Summerville's victory bumped their record up to 9-12. As for Riverbank, their loss dropped their record down to 2-24-1.

Summerville skirted past Riverbank 12-11 in their previous meeting back in April. Will the Bears repeat their success, or do the Bruins have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.