Lutheran is 4-0 against Air Academy since September of 2022, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Lutheran Lions will welcome the Air Academy Kadets at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lutheran has nine straight wins, Air Academy has nine straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Wednesday, Lutheran got the win against Lewis-Palmer by a conclusive 17-2. The result was nothing new for the Lions, who have now won nine matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Lutheran let Kiley Glenn and Meredith Barnhart loose on the outfield. Glenn got on base in all three of her plate appearances with a home run, five RBI, and two runs, while Barnhart went 3-for-4 with a home run, four runs, and two RBI. With that strong performance, Barnhart is now averaging an impressive 2.1 runs per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Leah Cates, who scored two runs while going 1-for-1.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Lutheran hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most four strikeouts in nine consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Air Academy came up short against Widefield on Friday and fell 16-11.
Kylen Tucker was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Keira Finkle, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Lutheran's victory was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-1. As for Air Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 3-13.
Air Academy's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lutheran has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 11.2 hits per game. It's a different story for Air Academy, though, as they've been averaging 8.8. Given Lutheran's sizable advantage in that area, Air Academy will need to find a way to close that gap.
Lutheran took their win against Air Academy in their previous meeting back in October of 2023 by a conclusive 17-3. Will Lutheran repeat their success, or does Air Academy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
