Softball Game Preview: Sioux Valley Cossacks vs. Castlewood Warriors

The Sioux Valley Cossacks will take on the Castlewood Warriors at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Castlewood will be up against a hot Sioux Valley team: the squad just extended their winning streak to five. Everything went the Cossacks' way against Sisseton on Tuesday as they made off with a 19-1 victory. 19 seems to be a good number for the Cossacks as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Abby Axtell

Batters Struck Out

05/06/25 vs Sisseton	8
05/01/25 @ Deuel	6
04/10/25 @ Redfield	11

Abby Axtell made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in April. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.

In other batting news, McKinley Schwab was incredible, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with three runs and two RBI. That's the most runs she has posted over her last five contests. Kassidy Smith was another key player, getting on base in two of her three plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Castlewood won against Redfield on Monday with 13 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. The Warriors put the hurt on Colman-Egan with a sharp 13-1 victory. The Warriors haven't had any issues with the C-E Hawks recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Sioux Valley's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-6. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.7 runs on average over those games. As for Castlewood, their victory bumped their record up to 13-3.

Sioux Valley suffered a grim 16-6 defeat to Castlewood in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will the Cossacks have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.