Old Lyme is 0-10 against North Branford since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Old Lyme Wildcats will be playing in front of their home fans against the North Branford Thunderbirds at 4:00 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Old Lyme will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Cromwell, who they hadn't topped in nine consecutive meetings. Everything went Old Lyme's way against Cromwell on Tuesday as Old Lyme made off with a 14-1 win. The high-scoring effort was just what Old Lyme needed considering they were shutout in their previous matchup.
Emma Bayor made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 12 batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit (and only one walk). Bayor has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings every time she's pitched this season. Bayor was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Grace Phaneuf was a standout: she scored a run and stole two bases while going 3-for-3. Grace Osbourne was another key contributor, going 1-for-2 with two runs, a triple, and an RBI.
Meanwhile, North Branford put another one in the bag on Wednesday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Haddam-Killingworth 11-1. Considering North Branford has won five matches by more than nine runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Kiley Mullins spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up 11 Ks.
On the hitting side, Natalia Lucibello was incredible, going 4-for-5 with a home run, three runs, and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Lexi Falcioni, who scored three runs while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances.
Old Lyme's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for North Branford, they pushed their record up to 7-0 with that win, which was their 15th straight on the road dating back to last season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Old Lyme has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Branford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
