The Lightridge Bolts will head out on the road to square off against the Loudoun County Captains at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Lightridge is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Lightridge will bounce into Tuesday's game after beating Loudoun Valley, who they had gone 1-6 against in their seven prior meetings. The Bolts came out on top in a nail-biter against the Vikings on Thursday, sneaking past 4-2. Four seems to be a good number for the Bolts as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Lightridge got a great performance from Karissa Bowes as she tossed 4.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off seven hits.
Riley Thomas
| 04/03/25 vs Loudoun Valley | 3 |
| 03/25/25 @ Centreville | 2 |
| 03/21/25 @ South Lakes | 2 |
| 06/04/24 @ Midlothian | 2 |
| 04/08/24 @ Stone Bridge | 2 |
At the plate, Lightridge saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Riley Thomas, who went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Those three hits gave Thomas a new career-high.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Loudoun County, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They put the hurt on Heritage with a sharp 8-2 win on Monday. The result was nothing new for the Captains, who have now won five matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Madison Karschner tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out eight over five innings pitched. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Sharon Manni, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that she hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Miller, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and one double.
Loudoun County kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Loudoun County pushed their record up to 6-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for Lightridge, their record is now 6-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lightridge has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Loudoun County struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Lightridge skirted past Loudoun County 3-2 in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bolts since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
