Softball Game Preview: Fairfield Central Griffins vs. Eau Claire Shamrocks

For the second straight game, Fairfield Central will face off against Eau Claire. The Griffins will be playing at home against the Shamrocks at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Fairfield Central has four straight victories, Eau Claire has 11 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Fairfield Central's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Eau Claire with a sharp 18-0 win. The Griffins might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by seven runs or more this season.

Layla McMillan made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.

Ashlynn Pinkney

Stolen Base

04/01/25 @ Eau Claire	2
03/28/25 @ Columbia	1
03/26/25 vs Richard Winn Academy	1
03/18/25 @ Chester	1

In other batting news, Ashlynn Pinkney was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. Pinkney is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: she's snagged at least one every time she's taken the field this season. Another player making a difference was Niyah Morgan, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.

Fairfield Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .793. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .600 or higher in three consecutive games.

Eau Claire's loss dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Fairfield Central, they now have a winning record of 4-3.