The Sumner Stingrays will venture away from home to square off against the Steinbrenner Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
Sumner's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They blew past Plant 10-0. The Stingrays might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by six runs or more this season.
Aliyanis Stubbs was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over five innings pitched. Stubbs was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Victoria Rudolph and Jaelyn Joiner did most of the damage at the plate: Rudolph scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3, while Joiner scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Sa'Myra Cameron, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, it may have taken ten innings to finish the job, but Steinbrenner ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-4 win over Berkeley Prep.
Lilly Patton spent all ten innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on eight hits and racked up six Ks.
On the hitting side, Caila Mility was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-4. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two). Brooklyn Smith also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Steinbrenner pushed their record up to 15-5 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.2 runs over those games. As for Sumner, their record is now 12-8.
Both Sumner and Steinbrenner just can't seem to miss. The Stingrays have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10 hits per game. However, it's not like Steinbrenner struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Sumner couldn't quite finish off Steinbrenner when the teams last played back in May of 2024 and fell 6-4. Can the Stingrays avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
