The Berkeley Yellowjackets will head out to square off against the Liberty Lions at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Berkeley has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with five straight losses, while Liberty will come in with seven straight wins.
Berkeley fell victim to Arroyo and their airtight pitching crew on Friday. They took a 5-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Dons.
Olive Lightfoot spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and one unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up ten Ks.
Meanwhile, Liberty never let their opponents score on Thursday. They blew past Pittsburg 16-0. The Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten games by seven runs or more this season.
Kate Skinner looked comfortable as she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Kylee McKinney, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted over her last eight contests. Madison Tuttle was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Liberty always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .588. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .500 or higher in three consecutive matchups.
Liberty's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-4. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Berkeley, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-12.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Berkeley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Liberty struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
