A pair of teams making a climb in the Super Conference South meet for battle on the softball field tonight in the KCII Area Game of the Week. A thrilling game one back in May leaves much to be desired in round two between the Lone Tree Lions and Hillcrest Academy Ravens.

The Lions defeated the Ravens 7-5 in each team’s second game of the season. What looked to be a Raven victory turned quickly after the Lions plated five in the seventh. Now 10-5, Lone Tree sits just above Hillcrest in the conference standings, fresh off a four-game win streak to end the week. That concluded with a doubleheader sweep of WMU by a combined score of 28-1. Thirteen Lion hits were more than enough to take game one, which saw Hogan Eden go perfect at the plate with two RBI’s. Rylee Shield and Vivian Zaruba were responsible for eight combine runs in game two, as Abby Zaruba and Alex Dautremont each earned a win in the circle. A plus-five run differential is owed to a .349 team average. Shield and Eden have been tough outs all year, each closing in on 20 hits. Dautremont and Zaruba have split pitching responsibilities most of the season, joining together for a 3.01 ERA in 86 frames.

Rival Hillcrest Academy flies into Lone Tree off back-to-back losses to English Valleys and Van Buren County. Before that, the Ravens had rattled off four straight, getting back over .500 for the first time since June 5. The most recent came Saturday in a 6-5 win over Keota as part of the Hillcrest Classic. Up 2-1 in the fifth, the Ravens soon found themselves trailing 5-2 before answering with four of their own in the bottom half. Adrianne Blauvelt drove in two part of a 1-2 night. Erin Bontrager went 1-3 with an RBI and Malia Yoder struck out nine. While the Lions lead Hillcrest in a majority of offensive categories, the Raven bats are beginning to heat up. They’ve slugged six home runs this season after none last year. Yoder and Delaney Shaw each race to their fourth of the year having driven in more than a third of the team’s runs. Clair Withrow joins them hitting over .400, with Yoder leading the way at .548. Also 7-7 in the circle, Yoder reached 100 strikeouts for the second time in her career and is just four away from last year’s total.

It’s been 11 straight wins for Lone Tree against Hillcrest, with their earlier meeting the closest in more than 2 years. The Ravens look to even the score and get their first win since 2017 tonight on the KCII3 Stream. Pregame coverage begins at 6:30, then it’s first pitch between the Lions and Ravens at 7 live from Lone Tree.