Softball Recap: Danville Find Success

While Danville's win against Urbana wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Vikings won by a run and slipped past the Tigers 7-6. The victory continues a trend for the Vikings in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won four in a row.

Deana Linares

Stolen Base (Career)

04/21/26 vs Urbana	2
04/14/26 vs Oakwood	1
04/07/26 vs Armstrong	1
05/19/25 vs Mahomet-Seymour	1
04/30/25 vs Peoria	1

Deana Linares made a big impact no matter where she played. She struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and five unearned) runs off eight hits (and only one walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 15 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ava Foster, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March. Payton Beith was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.

Danville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. They are 2-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

Danville's win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 7-9. As for Urbana, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 4-8 record this season.

Danville will head out on the road to challenge Peoria at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. As for Urbana, they will face off against Mahomet-Seymour at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The Bulldogs have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 8.61 runs per game on average), something the Tigers will no doubt try to take advantage of.