The Roosevelt Roughriders will head out to challenge the Ballard Beavers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Roosevelt sitting on four straight victories and Ballard on six.
On Wednesday, Roosevelt made easy work of Lincoln and carried off a 9-3 win. The Roughriders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matches by six runs or more this season.
The team relied heavily on Samantha Wright, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double. Eva Lacey also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.
Roosevelt was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .440. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .304 or higher in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Ballard faced Garfield in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. The Beavers won by a run and slipped past the Bulldogs 4-3.
Colette Howren made a big impact no matter where she played. She struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one run and one double.
Howren wasn't the only one making solid contact as seven players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Wren Wald, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI. Another was Ruby Wallblom, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Roosevelt pushed their record up to 8-5 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 13.3 runs over those games. As for Ballard, their record is now 12-2.
Roosevelt's speedy runners might be the difference in Thursday's game. The Roughriders have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.1 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Ballard, though, as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.1 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Roosevelt continue to outrun the ball? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
