The Leander Lions will square off against the New Braunfels Unicorns at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Leander sitting on four straight victories and New Braunfels on three.
Leander's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over Bastrop. Considering the Lions have won 15 games by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Madelyn Lee, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. Rachel Grundei was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Leander always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bastrop only posted an OBP of .167.
Meanwhile, New Braunfels won against Alamo Heights last Tuesday with 11 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. The Unicorns beat Boerne by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 11-10.
Isabel Cruz was a standout: she got on base in four of her five plate appearances with one home run, two stolen bases, and two runs. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Mikayla Wilson, who went 2-for-5 with four stolen bases, three RBI, and one run.
Leander's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-9. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for New Braunfels, their win bumped their record up to 20-7.
Thursday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Leander hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .394. However, it's not like New Braunfels struggles in that department as they've averaged .406. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
