Softball Game Preview: North Mac Panthers vs. Southwestern Piasa Birds

The North Mac Panthers will head out on the road to take on the Southwestern Piasa Birds at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. North Mac has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with eight straight defeats, while Southwestern will come in with three straight victories.

North Mac's last matchup with Carlinville could've gone either way, but unfortunately the same can't be said for the pair's contest on Friday. The Panthers came up short against the Cavaliers, falling 7-0.

North Mac saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Isabelle Bickel, who went 1-for-3 with one double. That double marked the first that Bickel hit this season.

Meanwhile, Southwestern got the win against Roxana on Monday by a conclusive 13-3. The Piasa Birds might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by ten runs or more this season.

The team relied heavily on Kailyn Broyles, who fired off three home runs and nine RBI while going 3-for-3. Vivian Zurheide was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.

Southwestern hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in three consecutive matchups.

Southwestern pushed their record up to 5-3-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for North Mac, their loss dropped their record down to 0-8.

North Mac came up short against Southwestern in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, falling 5-1. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.