Softball Preview: North Mac Panthers vs. Pittsfield Saukees
The North Mac Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Pittsfield Saukees at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. North Mac is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.9 runs per game this season.
Last Thursday, North Mac came up short against Southwestern and fell 5-1. The defeat continues a trend for North Mac in their matchups with Southwestern: they've now lost four in a row.
Taylor Keirs put in work no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over seven innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off ten hits (and only one walk). Keirs has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive pitching appearances. Keirs was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Keirs wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Karleigh Prose, who went 1-for-3 with a stolen base.
Meanwhile, Pittsfield put the finishing touches on their 12th blowout victory of the season on Friday. Everything went their way against Barry Western as Pittsfield made off with a 13-1 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for Pittsfield.
Like North Mac, Pittsfield also got a great game from a two-way player: Kelsey Freesmeyer. On the mound, she tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Freesmeyer was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Grace Henry, who fired off two home runs and six RBI while going 3-for-3. Rebecca Neupauer was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
North Mac's loss dropped their record down to 13-11. As for Pittsfield, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-7.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. North Mac hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Pittsfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
North Mac beat Pittsfield 5-1 in their previous meeting back in May of 2022. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Mac since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
