Softball Preview: Knightstown Panthers vs. New Castle Trojans
Knightstown has enjoyed a five-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the New Castle Trojans at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Knightstown is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.
Knightstown will head into Thursday's match ready to turn things around: they lost a close one when they played on Monday but unfortunately for them the defeat they were handed on Thursday was a bit more commanding. They lost 11-1 to Hagerstown.
Jalyn Kopp made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and got on base in all three of her plate appearances with a stolen base and a double.
Meanwhile, New Castle was able to grind out a solid victory over Richmond on Wednesday, taking the game 5-2.
McKenna Speer spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits and racked up nine Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kattie Mathews, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Artaysha Thompson, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-1.
Knightstown's loss dropped their record down to 7-13. As for New Castle, their win bumped their record up to 7-16.
New Castle's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Knightstown hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .323. It's a different story for New Castle, though, as they've only averaged .254. Will they be able to contain Knightstown's hitters?
Knightstown couldn't quite finish off New Castle in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 and fell 8-6. Thankfully for Knightstown, Madi Moffitt (who kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out six over 4.2 innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
