The Independence Knights will challenge the Liberty Redhawks at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
Independence made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Memorial, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Knights fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 6-4 on Tuesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Knights have suffered against the Warriors since March 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Liberty). They never let Heritage get on the board and left with a 14-0 win on Tuesday. Winning may never get old, but the Redhawks sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Beckley Baumgart was a major factor no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Those three runs gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Sam Byrnes was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double. That's the most runs she has posted since back in February. The team also got some help courtesy of Anna Reeves, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Liberty always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Liberty's victory bumped their record up to 9-7. As for Independence, they dropped their record down to 2-10-1 with the loss, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season.
Independence might still be hurting after the 16-0 defeat they got from Liberty in their previous meeting back in April of 2025. Can the Knights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
