The Lutheran West Longhorns have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the Rocky River Pirates at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Lutheran West is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.6 runs per game this season.
Lutheran West will head into Thursday's contest ready to turn things around: they couldn't quite beat Fairview on Thursday, but the two-run margin was a huge improvement compared to the 11-run defeat they were dealt on Monday. Lutheran West fell just short of Fairview by a score of 11-9.
Leslie Sullivan put in work while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 16 batters over seven innings while giving up six earned (and five unearned) runs off four hits. Sullivan has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Sullivan was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with three runs, a triple, and two RBI.
In other batting news, Kailyn Caster was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Even though they lost, Lutheran West didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 16 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Rocky River waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came out on top against the Rockets by a score of 13-8.
Elizabeth Smalley was incredible, scoring three runs while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Rylie Quaiser, who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and two RBI.
Lutheran West's loss was their fifth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 4-5. As for Rocky River, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a massive bump to their 9-7 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lutheran West has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Rocky River struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Lutheran West took their victory against Rocky River in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 14-4. Will Lutheran West repeat their success, or does Rocky River have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
