The Medina Battling Bees will face off against the Mentor Cardinals at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
While Medina's victory against Shaker Heights wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Battling Bees came out on top against the Red Raiders on Wednesday by a score of 5-4 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game). The Battling Bees haven't had any issues with the Red Raiders recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.
The team relied heavily on Katie Rubino, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Ryann Allar, who went 2-for-3 with one run.
Meanwhile, Mentor had already won 12 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it 13 on Wednesday. They never let the Blue Devils get on the board and left with a 2-0 victory.
Not much got past Addison Belviso, who gave up just three hits to keep Brunswick off the board. Belviso has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Mentor saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Aubree Col?n, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Maddie Beam-Jones was another, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
Mentor pushed their record up to 19-7 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Medina, the win got them back to even at 12-12.
Both Medina and Mentor just can't seem to miss. The Battling Bees have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10 hits per game. However, it's not like Mentor struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.7 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Medina might still be hurting after the 14-8 defeat they got from Mentor in their previous matchup back in April. Will the Battling Bees have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
