Softball Game Preview: New Riegel Blue Jackets vs. Lakota Raiders

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Previous Games

05/06/24 - Away	10-4 W
04/15/24 - Home	16-6 W
05/10/23 - Home	11-1 W
04/19/23 - Away	12-13 L
05/11/22 - Away	9-10 L
+ 5 more games

New Riegel is 8-2 against Lakota since March of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Blue Jackets will be playing in front of their home fans against the Raiders at 6:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (New Riegel has three straight victories, Lakota has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

On Wednesday, New Riegel had just enough and edged out Gibsonburg 4-2.

Meanwhile, Lakota fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against Calvert on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Senecas by a score of 10-9.

Emma Jurovcik spent all 8.1 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five earned (and five unearned) runs on 13 hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Lexi Moon stepped up to lead a balanced group of hitters: she went 4-for-6 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. She has been hot recently, having posted three or more hits the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kailynn Smith, who went 4-for-6 with two RBI and one run.

New Riegel pushed their record up to 10-2 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for Lakota, they now have a losing record of 7-8.

Everything went New Riegel's way against Lakota when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as New Riegel made off with a 10-4 win. Will the Blue Jackets repeat their success, or do the Raiders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.