The Walton Braves will challenge the Bozeman Bucks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Walton is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season.
Walton is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 12 runs on Tuesday, they were much more limited against Milton on Thursday. They lost 11-1 to the Panthers.
Walton got a good showing from Bella Baker, who tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the first time Baker hasn't allowed a single hit since back in February of 2024.
On the hitting side, Walton saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Chloe Bendure, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Bozeman narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Chipley 9-8. The victory continues a trend for the Bucks in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won eight in a row.
Leah Peacock was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off eight hits. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (four). She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Addison John and Presley Thomason did most of the damage at the plate: John scored three runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-5, while Thomason scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. John has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kinsey Bruhmuller, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.
Bozeman was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .441. They are 6-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Bozeman's win was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-5. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Walton, their loss dropped their record down to 4-8.
Bozeman's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. Walton has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Bozeman, though, as they've been averaging only 3.4 strikeouts. Will Walton keep running through batters, or will the Bucks buck the trend?
Walton came out on top in a nail-biter against Bozeman in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 6-5. Do the Braves have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bucks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
