Braden River is 1-9 against Lakewood Ranch since March of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Braden River Pirates will face off against the Lakewood Ranch Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Braden River came up short against Manatee on Wednesday, falling 17-8. The Pirates have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Kaydence Evans put in work while hitting and pitching. She tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run any time she's pitched this season. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, Alyssa McCoy made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Chloe Russell, who scored a run while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
Even though they lost, Braden River hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Manatee struck out seven times.
Meanwhile, Lakewood Ranch was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat dating back to last season. They took a 4-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of Riverview Sarasota.
Lakewood Ranch saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lexi Meneely, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI. Payton Burdick was another, going 2-for-3 with one triple and one run.
Braden River now has a losing record of 1-2. As for Lakewood Ranch, their record now sits at 0-3.
Braden River took their win against Lakewood Ranch in their previous matchup back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 9-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Braden River since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
