The Lightridge Bolts will take on the Riverbend Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Lightridge 1.4, Riverbend 2.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Lightridge is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Independence a 6-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Bolts, who have now won nine games by six runs or more so far this season.
Peyton Robinson made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out six over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Lexi Musick and Avery Sullivan did most of the damage at the plate: Musick went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run, while Sullivan went 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. That's the most RBI Musick has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Riley Thomas, who went 3-for-4 with one run.
Lightridge was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Independence only posted a batting average of .083.
Meanwhile, Riverbend came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with 19 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 7-5 win over the Ram. Seven seems to be a good number for the Bears as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Ryleigh Livesay was excellent, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Riverbend's win was their 11th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.2 runs over those games. As for Lightridge, their win bumped their record up to 20-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Lightridge hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Riverbend struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
