Softball Game Preview: Southside Panthers vs. Fort Payne Wildcats

The Southside Panthers are taking a road trip to square off against the Fort Payne Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Fort Payne took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Southside, who comes in off a win.

Southside's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Gaston 15-0. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won nine contests by seven runs or more so far this season.

Rylann Shaw

Stolen Base

04/15/25 vs Gaston	1
04/08/25 @ Springville	1
04/07/25 @ Boaz	1
04/05/25 vs West End	1
04/01/25 vs Gadsden City	2
+ 4 more games

The team relied heavily on Rylann Shaw, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, six RBI, and two runs. She is also on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last nine games she's played. Another player making a difference was Lauren Mckee, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Fort Payne didn't have quite enough to beat Boaz on Tuesday and fell 7-6. The Wildcats have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Carley Cash was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one double. Cory Kramer was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.

Southside's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-12. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Fort Payne, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-12.

Southside was able to grind out a solid win over Fort Payne in their previous meeting back in March, winning 6-2. 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.