North Branford is 10-0 against Old Lyme since April of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The North Branford Thunderbirds will head out on the road to square off against the Old Lyme Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
North Branford's hitters will try to repeat the strong performance they gave on Wednesday, when they got past Haddam-Killingworth's usually-dominant pitching crew. North Branford's pitcher stepped up to hand Haddam-Killingworth a 14-0 shutout. The victory made it back-to-back wins for North Branford.
Not much got past Kiley Mullins, who gave up just six hits to keep Haddam-Killingworth off the board. Mullins has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Natalia Lucibello, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was Adriana Hills, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and a double.
Meanwhile, Old Lyme came tearing into Wednesday's matchup with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Knights 19-1. Old Lyme's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Ava Roth was a standout: she scored five runs while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Grace Phaneuf, who scored four runs while going 3-for-4.
North Branford's victory bumped their record up to 11-2. As for Old Lyme, they pushed their record up to 10-1 with that win, which was their fifth straight on the road.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. North Branford has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Old Lyme struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
North Branford came out on top in a nail-biter against Old Lyme when the teams last played back in May of 2023, sneaking past 2-1. Does North Branford have another victory up their sleeve, or will Old Lyme turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
