Softball Recap: Bushnell-Prairie City Takes a Loss

Bushnell-Prairie City had lost 21 straight at home dating back to last season, but on Thursday they dropped their record down to 0-23 to make it 22. They lost 18-3 to the Beardstown Tigers. If the Spartans were looking for revenge after losing 11-2 to the Tigers when the teams met back in May of 2023, then they'll just have to keep looking.

Bushnell-Prairie City saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mylee Chenoweth, who went 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

As for Beardstown, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-8 record this season. They might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten matches by six runs or more this season.

On Beardstown's side, Shelby Goodrich made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts Goodrich has posted since back in May of 2024. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.

In other batting news, Ava Quigley and Kylynn Maltby did most of the damage at the plate: Quigley went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, four runs, and two RBI, while Maltby went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple. Those three stolen bases gave Quigley a new career-high. Autumn Bowman was another key player, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.

Bushnell-Prairie City and Beardstown could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Illinois Rankings. The Spartans will face off against Farmington at 1:00 p.m. on Friday with a big rank disadvantage (586 vs. 251). Meanwhile, Beardstown (ranked 204th) will meet Quincy Notre Dame (ranked 61st) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.