The Defiance Bulldogs will head out to face off against the Liberty-Benton Eagles at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Defiance barely beat Bath the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Bulldogs were the clear victors by a 13-1 margin over the Wildcats on Tuesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Bulldogs considering their two-run performance the match before.
Addison Miller made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two runs and one stolen base.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Bella Gutierrez, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Elley Ward, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run.
Defiance always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .552. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Liberty-Benton entered their tilt with Pandora-Gilboa on Wednesday with six consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with seven. They blew past the Rockets 7-1.
Lexi Ebert spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on six hits and racked up eight Ks.
At the plate, Hayden Gillig was incredible, going 3-for-4 with three stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Sydney Ruetz, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Liberty-Benton's win was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-4. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.1 runs on average over those games. As for Defiance, with the win, they broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 13-9.
