Softball Game Preview: Altamont Indians vs. Neoga Indians

Altamont has gone 8-2 against Neoga recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. Altamont will venture away from home to face off against Neoga at 4:30 p.m. Altamont hasn't scored more than two runs for four games straight, a trend the squad is eager to reverse.

The scorekeeper got an easy start on Thursday as neither Altamont nor Vandalia made it on the board until the sixth inning. The Indians beat the Vandals by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 2-1.

Grace Lemke

Batters Struck Out

04/24/25 @ Vandalia	20
04/22/25 vs Charleston	20
04/21/25 @ Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg	9
04/18/25 @ Newton	9
04/17/25 vs Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City	15
+ 12 more games

Grace Lemke spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up 20 Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts any time she's pitched this season.

Meanwhile, Wednesday just wasn't the day for Neoga's offense. They lost 13-0 to Cumberland on Wednesday. The Indians haven't had much luck with the Pirates recently, as the team has come up short the last nine times they've met.

Neoga saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Josalyn Brandenburg, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases. Katelynn Gollihar also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.

Altamont has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.6 runs over those games. As for Neoga, their loss dropped their record down to 4-11.

Altamont took their win against Neoga in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 16-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for Altamont since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.