The Ansonia Tigers will square off against the Bradford Railroaders at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Ansonia is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.
It was a proper cat-fight when Ansonia took on Houston on Friday. The Tigers fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 5-4. The Tigers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Miley Walls spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five runs (all of which were unearned) on four hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Kylie Caldwell and Jayda Mangen stepped up to the plate in a big way. Caldwell went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI, while Mangen went a perfect 4-for-4 with one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Shyann McKenna, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and one run.
Meanwhile, while Bradford put up plenty of runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Twin Valley South. The Railroaders were the clear victors by a 13-0 margin over the Panthers. Considering the Railroaders have won seven contests by more than seven runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Vivian Harlemen was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Harlemen was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, Lexi Clark was incredible, going 1-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Chloe Hocker, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Bradford was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .583. They are 6-3 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Ansonia now has a losing record of 9-10. As for Bradford, the victory snapped their losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 9-13 record.
Bradford's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Ansonia has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.2 hits per game. It's a different story for Bradford, though, as they've been averaging 9.3 hits. Given Ansonia's sizable advantage in that area, the Railroaders will need to find a way to close that gap.
Ansonia took their win against Bradford in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 10-1 score. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Railroaders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
