Softball Game Preview: Milford Central Wildcats vs. Cherry Valley-Springfield Patriots

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Previous 4 Games

04/22/23 - Home	10-9 W
04/10/23 - Home	16-1 W
05/09/22 - Home	28-6 W
04/05/22 - Home	18-2 W

Milford Central is a perfect 4-0 against Cherry Valley-Springfield since April of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Wildcats are packing up and heading out on the road for their first away game of the season: they will take on the Patriots at 3:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.

Milford Central's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. Everything went their way against Worcester as they made off with a 15-0 win.

Milford Central got a massive performance out of Kara Mertz, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Bella Garlick was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.

Meanwhile, Cherry Valley-Springfield got the win against Worcester on Monday by a conclusive 18-1. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by 15 runs or more this season.

Bailey Thayer made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 11 over four innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4. That hit marked the first that she got this season.

In other batting news, Lexi Dygert and Mackenzie McGovern did most of the damage at the plate: Dygert went 2-for-5 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs, while McGovern scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of her six plate appearances. That's the most runs McGovern has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Kyra Druse, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-5.

Cherry Valley-Springfield's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 3-1. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Milford Central, the victory got them back to even at 1-1.

Milford Central skirted past Cherry Valley-Springfield 10-9 in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.