Softball Game Preview: Plano East Panthers vs. McKinney Lions

The Plano East Panthers will venture away from home to take on the McKinney Lions at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Plano East has three straight wins, McKinney has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

It was a proper cat-fight when Plano East took on Plano on Friday. The Panthers never let the Wildcats get on the board and left with a 5-0 victory. That's two games straight that the Panthers have won by exactly five runs.

The result came thanks to Jadyn Dawson's shutout, as she gave up just three hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Plano East's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Chloe Lee, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.

Meanwhile, McKinney came up short against McKinney Boyd on Friday, falling 12-2.

Plano East's victory bumped their record up to 19-9. As for McKinney, their loss dropped their record down to 3-24-1.

McKinney's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Plano East has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .446. It's a different story for McKinney, though, as they've only averaged .353. Will they be able to contain Plano East's hitters?

Everything went Plano East's way against McKinney when the teams last played back in March, as Plano East made off with a 12-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.