Staunton River and Liberty are an even 5-5 against one another since June of 2018, but likely not for long. The Golden Eagles will head out on the road to face off against the Minutemen at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Staunton River has seven straight victories, Liberty has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
If Staunton River beats Liberty with 11 runs on Thursday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two matchups with that exact score. The Golden Eagles walked away with an 11-8 win over William Byrd on Tuesday.
Payton Evans made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Evans was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two RBI and one run.
Kailynne Keister
| 04/22/25 @ William Byrd | 2 |
| 04/02/25 vs Christiansburg | 1 |
| 03/26/25 @ Christiansburg | 1 |
| 03/19/25 @ Brookville | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kailynne Keister, who fired off two home runs, three runs, and one triple while going 3-for-5. Those two home runs gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kaylee Maxfield, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Staunton River lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Liberty came up short against Rustburg on Tuesday and fell 5-1.
Staunton River pushed their record up to 9-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Liberty, they now have a losing record of 4-5.
Everything went Staunton River's way against Liberty in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, as Staunton River made off with a 19-2 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Golden Eagles since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
