On Tuesday, Flathead faced Russell in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Flathead Braves/Bravettes came out on top against the Russell Rustlers by a score of 7-4. For Flathead, this counts as revenge for the 7-2 defeat Russell walked away with the last time they faced one another back in May of 2023.
Lacie Franklin spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on ten hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Olivia Nyman, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI. Mackenzie Brandt was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
On Russell's side, Hailey Marr and Aspyn Zuelke did some serious damage despite the final result: Marr went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double, while Zuelke scored two runs while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Julia Bushard, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Even though they lost, Russell didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with nine strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
The victory got Flathead back to even at 3-3. As for Russell, they dropped their record down to 2-5 with that loss, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season.
Flathead is on the road again on Thursday to play Glacier at 5:00 p.m. Glacier's pitching crew has only allowed 3.4 runs per game this season, so Flathead's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Russell, they have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome Butte at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Russell is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.6 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
