The James Monroe Mavericks will challenge the Liberty Raiders at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. James Monroe will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
While James Monroe's win against Graham wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Mavericks beat the G-Men on Friday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 9-8. The game snapped a strange streak: the last four times these teams have met, it?s been the away team that?s taken home the W.
Bryleigh Thomas
| 05/02/25 vs Graham | 0 |
| 05/01/25 vs Liberty | 1 |
| 04/28/25 @ Bluefield | 1 |
| 04/23/25 vs Jackson | 2 |
Bryleigh Thomas spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and four unearned) runs on ten hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, James Monroe saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Peyton Street, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Kileigh Morrow also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Liberty). They never let Summers County get on the board and left with a 22-0 victory on Tuesday. Considering the Raiders have won nine games by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Maddie Cox made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 5.1 strikeouts per game. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Liberty got a massive performance out of Stella Brown, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four runs, and two stolen bases. Those three hits gave Brown a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Alyssa Scarbro, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and one triple.
Liberty hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least four batters in five consecutive matches.
Liberty pushed their record up to 14-8 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for James Monroe, their record is now 9-12.
Wednesday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. James Monroe hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .324. However, it's not like Liberty struggles in that department as they've averaged .373. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
James Monroe skirted past Liberty 9-8 in their previous matchup on Thursday. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mavericks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
