Softball Preview: New Prairie Cougars vs. Leo Lions
The New Prairie Cougars will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against the Leo Lions at 1:00 p.m. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
New Prairie is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Kankakee Valley with a sharp 8-0 win. New Prairie might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won 15 contests by six runs or more this season.
Ava Geyer made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 18 over seven innings pitched. Geyer has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in nine consecutive pitching appearances. Geyer was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with a double.
In other batting news, Emma Luther was incredible, going 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Ella Chelminiak was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Leo came tearing into Tuesday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.7 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Knights 4-2.
Mackenzie Arroyo spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on eight hits and racked up 14 Ks.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Lillian Pierce, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Madyn Mohr, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
New Prairie's win bumped their record up to 21-6. As for Leo, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 26-5 record this season.
Both the pair just can't seem to miss. New Prairie has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.3 hits per game. However, it's not like Leo struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
New Prairie came out on top in a nail-biter against Leo in their previous matchup back in June of 2023, sneaking past 1-0. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Leo's Ellie Sauder, who pitched six innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Now that she won't be playing on Saturday, will it be that much easier for New Prairie to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
