Valley Regional and Old Lyme are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2016, but likely not for long. The Valley Regional Warriors will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Old Lyme Wildcats at 3:45 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Valley Regional is headed into the game fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Portland a 19-0 shutout on Monday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Kellyn Kolber made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Kolber was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Valley Regional let Riley Soares and Nataly Pavon-Avila loose on the outfield. Soares scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances, while Pavon-Avila scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Raegan Wyrebek-Brasky, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Old Lyme came tearing into Wednesday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.7 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Bellringers with a sharp 13-1 win.
Like Valley Regional, Old Lyme also got a great game from a two-way player: Emma Bayor. She struck out 14 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). Bayor has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't pitched less than five innings every time she's pitched this season. Bayor was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Sybil Neary, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Ava Roth was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.
Valley Regional's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-5. As for Old Lyme, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-1.
Friday's matchup will be a test for both team's pitchers. Valley Regional hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .321. However, it's not like Old Lyme struggles in that department as they've averaged .359. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Valley Regional suffered a grim 13-0 defeat to Old Lyme when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Can Valley Regional avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
