Bradford is a perfect 4-0 against Houston since April of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Railroaders are taking a road trip to take on the Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. Bradford is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.5 runs per game this season.
Bradford will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Tuesday, then bounced right back against Franklin Monroe on Thursday. The Railroaders were the clear victors by a 15-1 margin over the Jets. The contest marked the Railroaders' most dominant win of the season.
Casey Bolen made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Those ten strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles and one run.
Hayven Evans
| 04/17/25 @ Franklin Monroe | 3 |
| 04/14/25 vs Covington | 2 |
| 04/11/25 @ New Bremen | 2 |
| 04/07/25 vs Union City | 2 |
| 03/25/25 vs Milton-Union | 2 |
In other batting news, Bradford got a massive performance out of Hayven Evans, who went 3-for-5 with three runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Those three runs gave Evans a new career-high. Chloe Hocker was another key player, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base.
Bradford was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .600. They are 4-2 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Houston earned a 5-1 victory over Russia on Monday.
Like Bradford, Houston also got a great game from a two-way player: Makenna Vondenhuevel. She struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Vondenhuevel has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. That triple was her first of the season.
In other batting news, Madison Plunkett was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Lauryn Crim also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
Houston is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Bradford, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-6.
Houston's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Bradford hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .395. It's a different story for Houston, though, as they've only averaged .248. Will they be able to contain Bradford's hitters?
Everything went Bradford's way against Houston in their previous meeting back in May of 2022, as Bradford made off with a 10-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Railroaders since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
