The Liberty Lancers will venture away from home to take on the Freeman Scotties at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Tuesday, Liberty made easy work of Colfax and carried off a 13-3 victory. The win continues a trend for the Lancers in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won four in a row.
Jordyn Jeske was a major factor no matter where she played. She struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits (and only one walk). She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than one earned run in eight consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring four runs while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Aubrey Hofmann was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. Haylee Mitzimberg was another key player, scoring three runs while going 2-for-4.
Liberty always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .605. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Colfax only posted an OBP of .200.
Meanwhile, Freeman strolled into their game last Saturday with a perfect record and they left with the same. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna a 10-0 shutout.
Like Liberty, Freeman also got a great game from a two-way player: Kaylee Ripke. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 14 over six innings pitched. Ripke was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three stolen bases, and two runs.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Rilyn Ripke, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Cierra Hayek also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Liberty's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for Freeman, their record now sits at 11-0.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Liberty hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Freeman struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.2 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
