Gardner-South Wilmington hasn't had much luck against Dwight recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Panthers will host the Trojans at 4:30 p.m. Gardner-South Wilmington will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.
On Tuesday, Gardner-South Wilmington needed a bit of extra time to put away Donovan. They won by a run and slipped past the Wildcats 4-3. That's two games straight that the Panthers have won by just one run.
Jo Male and Maddie Simms were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Male struck out six batters over four innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits (and only one walk). Meanwhile, Simms didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 13 over four innings pitched. Male has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in ten consecutive appearances. At the plate, Male went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run, while Simms went 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI Male has posted since back in April.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Bella Dinelli, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one double. That double marked the first that she has hit this season.
Meanwhile, Dwight was not the first on the board on Tuesday, but they got there more often. They walked away with a 9-6 victory over Midland. The win continues a trend for the Trojans in their matchups with the Timberwolves: they've now won eight in a row.
Like Gardner-South Wilmington, Dwight also got a great game from a two-way player: Madi Ely. She struck out 11 batters over 7.2 innings while giving up four earned (and two unearned) runs off nine hits. Ely was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Raegan Brown and Mikayla Ely did most of the damage at the plate: Brown went 4-for-5 with three runs, one double, and one RBI, while Mikayla went 2-for-5 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run. Another player making a difference was Mckenna Woodcock, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Dwight kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are 5-1 when they post 11 or more hits.
Gardner-South Wilmington pushed their record up to 16-9 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Dwight, their victory bumped their record up to 6-13.
Gardner-South Wilmington couldn't quite get it done against Dwight in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 as they fell 7-4. Will the Panthers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
