Softball Game Preview: McFarland Spartans vs. Marshall Cardinals

The McFarland Spartans will head out on the road to challenge the Marshall Cardinals at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. McFarland has given up an average of 7.1 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

McFarland is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They had just enough and edged out Stoughton 13-12. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Spartans.

Meanwhile, Marshall got themselves on the board against Wisconsin Heights on Thursday, but Wisconsin Heights never followed suit. They blew past the Vanguards 11-0. With that win, the Cardinals brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.

Kennedy Weisensel was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out 16 over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with two stolen bases and three runs. Those three runs gave her a new career-high.

In other batting news, Sydney Stuntebeck and Kierstin Hoel did most of the damage at the plate: Stuntebeck went 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs, while Hoel got on base in three of her five plate appearances with four stolen bases and three runs. Those four RBI gave Stuntebeck a new career-high. Carly Checky was another key player, going 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.

Marshall was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .394. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Wisconsin Heights only posted a batting average of .045.

Marshall has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten games. That's provided a massive bump to their 10-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for McFarland, they picked up their first home win, bumping their record up to 3-6.

McFarland beat Marshall 3-0 in their previous meeting back in May of 2016. Will the Spartans repeat their success, or do the Cardinals have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.