The Lawrence Central Bears will square off against the Hamilton Heights Huskies at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Lawrence Central took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Columbus East 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Bears have posted since May 15, 2024.
Eliana Luter was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. She also put up a double, which was her first of the season.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Heights never let their opponents score on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Tipton with a sharp 12-0 victory. Considering the Huskies have won five matches by more than nine runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Lily Cash was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in May of 2024. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Hailey Hall, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Those four hits gave her a new career-high. Heather Crays was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
Hamilton Heights always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .552. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Tipton only posted an OBP of .263.
Hamilton Heights' win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-4. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Lawrence Central, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-6.
