Softball Game Preview: Hanover Central Wildcats vs. Columbia City Eagles

The Hanover Central Wildcats will take on the Columbia City Eagles at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a four-game winning streak alive.

Hanover Central is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They walked away with a 5-1 win over Highland. That's two games straight that the Wildcats have won by exactly four runs.

Jillian Deyoung

Batters Struck Out

06/03/25 vs Highland	9
05/30/25 vs Lowell	16
05/27/25 vs Illiana Christian	9
05/19/25 vs Crown Point	5

Jillian Deyoung spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Sienna Stilley, who got on base in four of her five plate appearances with one home run, two RBI, and one double. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one home run the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Rebecca Ferguson, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Hanover Central was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .394. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Highland only posted a batting average of .222.

Meanwhile, it was a Battle of the Birds when Columbia City faced off against Glenn on Tuesday. The Eagles walked away with an 8-3 victory over the Falcons.

Columbia City also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Emma Hiss gave up just two earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits and racked up 12 Ks.

At the plate, Columbia City let Mylie Ward and Hanna Maggard run wild. Ward got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI, while Maggard got on base in four of her five plate appearances with three runs. That's the most runs Maggard has posted since back in April. Lacie Friend was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Hanover Central's record is now 15-12. As for Columbia City, their record now sits at 19-5.