Softball Game Preview: Appleton North Lightning vs. Kimberly Papermaker Wasp

Appleton North is 1-9 against Kimberly since May of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Lightning will challenge the Papermaker Wasp at 4:30 p.m. Appleton North's pitching crew has only allowed 2.7 runs per game this season, so Kimberly's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Things were looking good for Appleton North after they put the first run on the board on Saturday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They fell just short of D.C. Everest by a score of 8-7. That's two games in a row now that the Lightning have lost by just one run.

Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last matchup, Kimberly made sure to put some runs up on the board against Superior on Saturday. The Papermaker Wasp were the clear victors by a 17-3 margin over the Spartans. Considering the Papermaker Wasp have won 11 games by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.

Kimberly is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-7 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.7 runs over those games. As for Appleton North, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-6.

Appleton North skirted past Kimberly 6-4 in their previous meeting back in April. Will the Lightning repeat their success, or do the Papermaker Wasp have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.