The Olympia Bears will head out on the road to face off against the North Thurston Rams at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Olympia has given up an average of 7 runs per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Olympia managed to slip by Emerald Ridge the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Bears came up short against the Jaguars on Wednesday, falling 12-1. Bears fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Jaguars since on Wednesday.
Olympia saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brooklyn Crass, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask North Thurston). Everything went their way against Bellarmine Prep on Thursday as they made off with a 22-2 win. Considering the Rams have won three matches by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Syriahs Trolson made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. Trolson was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, North Thurston got a massive performance out of Abigail McBride, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. That triple marked the first that McBride hit this season. Another player making a difference was Ellie Hovde, who scored three runs while going 3-for-5.
North Thurston always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .605. The last time their OBP was this high was was before the start of last season.
This is the second loss in a row for Olympia and nudges their season record down to 5-5. As for North Thurston, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
Friday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Olympia hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .369. However, it's not like North Thurston struggles in that department as they've averaged .318. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Olympia was able to grind out a solid win over North Thurston when the teams last played back in March of 2019, winning 9-5. 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.
