Softball Game Preview: Licking Valley Panthers vs. West Muskingum Tornadoes

The Licking Valley Panthers will square off against the West Muskingum Tornadoes at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.

Licking Valley's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They put the hurt on Northridge with a sharp 16-0 win. The Panthers have beaten the Vikings the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Vikings has come to flipping the script.

Emory Whisner was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Whisner was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with four RBI and one double. That hit marked the first that she got this season.

In other batting news, Taylor Penick was a standout: she scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Those runs were her first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Tori Baughman, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-2.

West Muskingum's found some homefield redemption this week after a overtime loss to Meadowbrook on Wednesday. The Tornadoes had just enough and edged out the Colts 11-10. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Tornadoes have posted since April 6, 2024.

West Muskingum got a massive performance out of Kyana Bowers, who went 4-for-5 with five RBI and two doubles. Those five RBI gave Bowers a new career-high. Daylee Foster was another key player, going 3-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, and one triple.

West Muskingum always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .561. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

West Muskingum's win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 4-3. As for Licking Valley, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.