Grace Community is preparing for their first district matchup of the season on Monday. They will head out to square off against the Hyde Park Panthers at 2:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
It was a proper cat-fight when Grace Community duked it out with Winona back in March. The Cougars' pitcher stepped up to hand the Wildcats a 15-0 shutout. That 15 run margin sets a new team best for the Cougars this season.
Isabel Buchanan
| 03/31/25 vs Winona | 5 |
| 03/28/24 @ Coram Deo Academy | 3 |
| 03/01/25 vs Gladewater | 2 |
| 04/23/24 vs Bishop Dunne | 2 |
| 04/18/24 @ Slocum | 2 |
The team relied heavily on Isabel Buchanan, who fired off two home runs, five RBI, and three runs while going 2-for-2. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. Macie Mathis also deserves some recognition as she brought in her first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, Hyde Park had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They put the hurt on the Bears with a sharp 17-1 victory. Considering the Panthers have won ten matches by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Alexandra Akins was a major factor no matter where she played. She pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Cariana Stout was incredible, going 1-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. She is on a roll when it comes to home runs, as she's now launched at least one in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Mary Alice White, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Hyde Park's win was their 27th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 14-4. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.4 runs over those games. As for Grace Community, the win got them back to even at 5-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Grace Community hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Hyde Park struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Grace Community suffered a grim 7-0 defeat to Hyde Park in their previous meeting back in February of 2023. Can the Cougars avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
