Softball Game Preview: Lakewood Ranch Mustangs vs. Bayshore Bruins

The Lakewood Ranch Mustangs will take on the Bayshore Bruins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Lakewood Ranch is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.6 runs per game this season.

Bayshore will be up against a hot Lakewood Ranch squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. Lakewood Ranch was the clear victor by an 8-2 margin over Riverview on Wednesday. The result was nothing new for the Mustangs, who have now won five matchups by six runs or more so far this season.

Lexi Meneely was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with four RBI and one triple. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high.

Olivia Shephard

Hits (Career)

03/26/25 vs Riverview	3
03/13/25 vs Venice	2
03/06/25 @ Palmetto	2
03/04/25 @ Lake Placid	2
02/20/25 vs Inspiration Academy	2

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Olivia Shephard, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4. Those three hits gave her a new career-high. Kendal McCoy was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.

Lakewood Ranch hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most four strikeouts in seven consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Bayshore fell victim to Braden River and their airtight pitching crew two weeks ago. They lost 17-0 to the Pirates. The Bruins haven't had much luck with the Pirates recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.

Lakewood Ranch pushed their record up to 6-7 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Bayshore, they now have a losing record of 2-3.

Lakewood Ranch took their win against Bayshore in their previous matchup back in April of 2015 by a conclusive 11-0. Does Lakewood Ranch have another victory up their sleeve, or will Bayshore turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.