Benton Rangers (Benton, IL) backers exited the stadium thrilled Monday as they saw their softball squad nip the host Salem Wildcats (Salem, IL), 9-3 in a non-league match.

The Rangers now sport a 2-2 record. They play next when they host Goreville for a non-league match on Tuesday, April 30. Benton will meet a Blackcats squad coming off a 5-0 non-league loss to Massac County (Metropolis, IL). The Blackcats record now stands at 10-8.

With the loss, Salem moves to 7-14 on the season. The Wildcats host Sandoval (Sandoval, IL) to meet the Blackhawks in a non-league match on Wednesday, May 1. The Blackhawks go into the match with a record of 0-1. Sandoval lost 10-0 in their recent non-league match against Woodlawn (Woodlawn, IL)

We got beat by a very good hitting Benton team. Mallory was able to shut them down for 3 innings, but they finally busted lose in the 4th with 5 runs. She struggled with her location that inning & couldn't get them to chase her changeup, & they hit the ball hard. She settled down a bit after that, but a 2 out walk cost her in the 6th, as Benton had 2 hits after that to produce 2 more runs. Down 7-3 going into the bottom of the 6th, we loaded the bases with 1 out, but a grounder to 2nd produced a double play & we didn't score. Taylor Smith & Anissa Rasul had 2 hits each to lead us. Taylor also made a couple sliding catches in center field, & on one of them was able to come up & throw out the runner at the plate who had tagged up at 3rd.