The Buckeye Bucks will venture away from home to challenge the Brunswick Blue Devils at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Brunswick will be up against a hot Buckeye squad: the team just extended their winning streak to five. Everything went the Bucks' way against Highland on Thursday as they made off with a 16-5 win. Considering the Bucks have won three games by more than seven runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Lilly Young tossed a big game, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run any time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, Cassy Minarchick was incredible, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, five RBI, and three runs. McKenzie Cenname also deserves some recognition as she brought in her first RBI of the season.
Buckeye kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 19 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 11 hits in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Brunswick never let their opponents score on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 6-0 margin over North Royalton. The victory continues a trend for the Blue Devils in their matchups with the Bears: they've now won three in a row.
Not much got past Gabby Diligente, who gave up just five hits and racked up seven Ks to keep North Royalton off the board.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Lilly Leichliter, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in May of 2025. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaelyn Stolarski, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Buckeye's record now sits at 5-0. As for Brunswick, the win got them back to even at 4-4.
Buckeye's speedy runners might be the difference in Saturday's contest. The Bucks have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Brunswick, though, as they've been averaging only 1.1 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Buckeye continue to outrun the ball? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.