The crowd at Wednesday's non-league match between the Salem Wildcats (Salem, IL) and the host Fairfield Mules (Fairfield, IL), saw Salem's softball squad nip Fairfield by a count of 7-5.

The Wildcats now sport a 5-8 record. They take the field next when they host Charleston for a Apollo match on Saturday, April 13.

With the loss, Fairfield falls to 1-1 on the campaign. The Mules travel to Eldorado (Eldorado, IL) to face the Eagles in a non-league match on Friday, April 19. The Eagles enter the match with a record of 2-8.

This was a nice win for us. We were shorthanded going into the game, and we had some players step up and help offset the absent players. Chelsey Lane got the start in the circle & threw 5 solid innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits for the win. Taylor Jones came through with a 2-out, 2-run double in the 6th to break a 2-2 tie. Then Ashley West delivered a big 2-out, 3-run triple in the top of the 7th to give us some breathing room going into the bottom of the 7th. It turned out we needed those runs, as Fairfield rallied with 3 runs of their own to make things interesting. West picked up the save, pitching the final 2 innings. Kelly Sager broke loose for 4 hits, including a double, & Alyssa McCormack scored 3 runs.