Softball Recap: Prairie Central Wins Going Away Against Paxton-Buckley-Loda

Hawks

Margin (Wins)

03/22/25 vs El Paso-Gridley	18
03/29/25 vs Forreston	15
03/17/25 vs Woodland	15
04/10/25 @ St. Thomas More	13
04/28/25 @ Paxton-Buckley-Loda	11

After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Tolono Unity, Prairie Central was happy to have turned things around on Monday. Everything went their way against the Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers as they made off with a 12-1 victory. The Hawks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight contests by seven runs or more this season.

Dixie Hogan spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Sam Slagel, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and one stolen base. That's the most runs she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Kate Slagel, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.

Prairie Central hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are 5-1 when they post two or more strikeouts.

Prairie Central's win bumped their record up to 12-13. As for Paxton-Buckley-Loda, they dropped their record down to 3-16 with the defeat, which was their eighth straight at home.

Looking ahead, Prairie Central will head out on the road to take on Lexington at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Minutemen have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 6.7 runs per game on average), something the Hawks will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Paxton-Buckley-Loda, they will look to defend their home field on Tuesday against Centennial at 4:30 p.m. The Panthers are facing the Chargers at the right time seeing as the Chargers are stuck on a four-game losing streak.