The Burleson Elks will head out on the road to take on the Joshua Owls at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Burleson's pitching crew has only allowed 3.5 runs per game this season, so Joshua's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Burleson is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Centennial just ended the team's five-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Spartans by a score of 5-4.
Ryan Hovland spent all 7.1 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five earned runs on ten hits and racked up nine Ks.
On the hitting side, Kaydan Dorman was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Daelyn Gonzales, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4.
Dorman wasn't the only one working in the hit department: Burleson kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Joshua got themselves on the board against Everman on Tuesday, but Everman never followed suit. They blew past the Bulldogs 15-0. The Owls haven't had any issues with the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
Molly Young made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in February.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Baylee Jones, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, four RBI, and one stolen base. Zaylee Masters also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
The win got Joshua back to even at 9-9. As for Burleson, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 8-5.
