The Bellevue East Chieftains will head out to face off against the Bellevue West Thunderbirds at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Bellevue East's pitching crew has only allowed 1.8 runs per game this season, so Bellevue West's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Bellevue East is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Papillion-LaVista, who was ranked fifth in their home state at the time (Bellevue East was ranked 15th). Bellevue East had just enough and edged Papillion-LaVista out 2-1.
Alisha Mcmurtry made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and not a single walk). She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in nine consecutive pitching appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with a home run.
Mcmurtry wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Maddy Mitchell, who went 2-for-4 with a double.
Meanwhile, Bellevue West won against Omaha Central on Friday with nine runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. Bellevue West walked away with a 9-6 win over Lincoln Northeast. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Thunderbirds.
Like Bellevue East, Bellevue West also got a great game from a two-way player: Aubrey White. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. White was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Jaycee Woodard was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. That's the most hits she has posted since back in August. Another player making a difference was Elli Reyes, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
Bellevue West hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most three strikeouts in four consecutive games.
Bellevue East's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-4. As for Bellevue West, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a massive bump to their 7-10 record this season.
Bellevue East came out on top in a nail-biter against Bellevue West in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, sneaking past 4-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Bellevue East since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
