The Ballard Beavers will take on the Seattle Prep Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Ballard has three straight wins, Seattle Prep has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Ballard is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Franklin a 22-0 shutout on Friday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Beavers with their most commanding win of the season.
Gracie Osborn made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Osborn was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Those hits marked the first that she has got this season.
In other batting news, Alessa Iliakis was incredible, getting on base in all five of her plate appearances with three runs, three RBI, and one triple. That triple marked the first that she has hit this season. Elsa Sand was another key player, getting on base in four of her six plate appearances with four RBI and two runs.
Ballard always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .714. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Seattle Prep came up short against Redmond on Friday, falling 9-1.
Seattle Prep saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ella Seel, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Ballard's victory bumped their record up to 6-2. As for Seattle Prep, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-7.
Seattle Prep's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Ballard has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 11.5 hits per game. It's a different story for Seattle Prep, though, as they've been averaging 10.9 hits. Given Ballard's sizable advantage in that area, the Panthers will need to find a way to close that gap. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
