Softball Game Preview: Kewanee Boilermakers vs. Farmington Farmers

The Kewanee Boilermakers will take on the Farmington Farmers at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Kewanee's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They put the hurt on Hall with a sharp 10-0 win. Considering the Boilermakers have won four contests by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.

Kalleigh Gale made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.

In other batting news, Rylee Blades was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. What's more, she posted two doubles, the most she's had since back in March. Another player making a difference was Kieryn Abernathy, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.

Kewanee hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hall struck out 12 times.

Meanwhile, Farmington was not the first on the board last Tuesday, but they got there more often. They walked away with a 7-3 victory over Deer Creek-Mackinaw. The win continues a trend for the Farmers in their matchups with the Chiefs: they've now won five in a row.

Kewanee has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Farmington, their win bumped their record up to 3-5.

Everything went Kewanee's way against Farmington when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Kewanee made off with an 11-2 victory. Will the Boilermakers repeat their success, or do the Farmers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.