Ponder is 1-9 against Boyd since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Lions will welcome the Yellowjackets at 5:00 p.m. This will be Ponder's first chance to prove their worth in the conference.
Ponder's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed back in February. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Cleburne 2-0. That's two games straight that the Lions have won by exactly two runs.
Ponder's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Kami Thorson, who went 1-for-2 with one run. Kennedy Nichols also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Boyd entered their tilt with Valley View on Monday with 14 consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with 15. They blew past the Eagles 13-0. The Yellowjackets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten matchups by seven runs or more this season.
Abby Atkinson was a major factor no matter where she played. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in ten consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with seven RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gabby Salas, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and one double. Those four hits gave her a new career-high. Jaydan Gurule was another key player, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs and one RBI.
Boyd kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in nine consecutive contests.
The victory got Ponder back to even at 2-2. As for Boyd, their win bumped their record up to 20-2.
Ponder couldn't quite get it done against Boyd when the teams last played back in April of 2025 as they fell 3-0. Can the Lions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
