The Burleson Elks will square off against the Joshua Owls at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Burleson is coming into the contest hot, having won their last seven games.
Burleson will bounce into Thursday's game after beating Centennial, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Elks came out on top against the Spartans by a score of 5-1 on Tuesday.
Ryan Hovland spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on five hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Daelyn Gonzales, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Lanie Bedwell, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, while Joshua put up plenty of runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for Everman. The Owls were the clear victors by a 19-0 margin over the Bulldogs. The Owls might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matches by eight runs or more this season.
Serenity Vaught made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over four innings pitched. Those six strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Zaylee Masters was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two). Molly Young was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base.
Burleson's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-5. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Joshua, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-11 record this season.
Burleson skirted past Joshua 6-4 in their previous meeting back in March. Do the Elks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Owls turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
