Billings West is 10-0 against Bozeman since May of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Billings West Golden Bears will be playing in front of their home fans against the Bozeman Hawks at 3:00 p.m. The timing is sure in Billings West's favor as the team sits on five straight wins at home while Bozeman has been banged up by seven consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.
Billings West is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Montana's top teams: Capital, who was ranked fifth in their home state at the time (Billings West was ranked sixth). Everything went Billings West's way against Capital on Saturday as Billings West made off with a 13-2 win. The result was nothing new for Billings West, who have now won six matchups by nine runs or more so far this season.
Tatum Bush was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Bush has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Bush was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lileigh Nieto, who fired off two home runs, five RBI, and three runs while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Kylie King, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, and a double.
Bozeman lost 19-4 to Butte on Saturday.
Avery Westphal made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-2 with a home run and three RBI.
Billings West is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. As for Bozeman, their loss dropped their record down to 1-9.
Bozeman's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Billings West has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.2 hits per game. It's a different story for Bozeman, though, as they've been averaging 12.2. Given Billings West's sizable advantage in that area, Bozeman will need to find a way to close that gap.
Billings West took their victory against Bozeman in their previous meeting on April 4th by a conclusive 13-2. Does Billings West have another victory up their sleeve, or will Bozeman turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
