Big Spring has won three straight games at home, while James Buchanan has won three straight on the road dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Monday. The Bulldogs will welcome the Rockets at 4:30 p.m. Big Spring knows how to get runs on the board -- the team has finished with ten runs or more in their past five games -- so hopefully James Buchanan likes a good challenge.
While Big Spring didn't have the best season last year (they finished 2-6), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They put the hurt on Delone Catholic with a sharp 16-1 victory on Friday. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by eight runs or more this season.
Lily Raudabaugh was incredible, going 1-for-2 with five RBI, two runs, and one double. That double marked the first that she hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Izzy Fry, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Raudabaugh wasn't the only one making solid contact: Big Spring kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, while it was James Buchanan who put the first runs on the board on Thursday, it was Shippensburg who put up more. The Rockets fell just short of the Greyhounds by a score of 8-7.
Lilianna Wiley spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and four unearned) runs on ten hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Brooklyn Sanchez and Karli Gordon did some serious damage despite the final result: Sanchez went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles, and one triple, while Gordon scored three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Emileigh Linn, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Big Spring's win bumped their record up to 6-2. As for James Buchanan, their loss dropped their record down to 4-3.
Everything went Big Spring's way against James Buchanan in their previous meeting back in April of 2022, as Big Spring made off with a 13-2 victory. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Rockets have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
