The Marshall Lions will square off against the Georgetown-Ridge Farm Buffaloes at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Georgetown-Ridge Farm will be up against a hot Marshall squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. Marshall's pitcher stepped up to hand Martinsville a 15-0 shutout on Saturday. Fans of the Lions have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 6+ runs.
Kyla Gustafson made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out seven over four innings pitched. Gustafson was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run.
In other batting news, Marshall got a massive performance out of Haley McGuire, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. That's the most hits McGuire has posted since back in April of 2024. Lauren English was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.
Marshall always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .600. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Martinsville only posted an OBP of .077.
Meanwhile, Georgetown-Ridge Farm made easy work of Tri-County [Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland] on Monday and carried off a 10-4 victory.
Like Marshall, Georgetown-Ridge Farm also got a great game from a two-way player: Chloe Stephenson. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out ten over seven innings pitched. Stephenson has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. She also put up two RBI, which were her first of the season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Peyton McComas, who scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Madi Spesard, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Marshall pushed their record up to 3-0 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Georgetown-Ridge Farm, their win bumped their record up to 2-3.
Georgetown-Ridge Farm's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Marshall has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 13 hits per game. It's a different story for Georgetown-Ridge Farm, though, as they've been averaging 9.2 hits. Given Marshall's sizable advantage in that area, Georgetown-Ridge Farm will need to find a way to close that gap.
Marshall took their victory against Georgetown-Ridge Farm in their previous matchup back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 24-1. Does Marshall have another victory up their sleeve, or will Georgetown-Ridge Farm turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
