Softball Recap: Whiting Comes Up Short

Whiting dropped their record down to 6-5 on Monday, which also ended the team's three-game streak of wins at home. They came up short against the Illiana Christian Vikings, falling 14-1. If the Oilers were looking for revenge after losing 12-0 to the Vikings when the teams met back in April of 2024, then they'll just have to keep looking.

Whiting saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Aliyah Vianello, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI.

As for Illiana Christian, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a massive bump to their 10-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games.

On Illiana Christian's side, Cayden Petersen made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits over five innings pitched. Petersen was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Those two doubles gave her a new career-high.

In other batting news, Illiana Christian got a massive performance out of Emmy Jansma, who went 3-for-4 with two triples, four RBI, and two runs. Those triples were Jansma's first of the season. Sofia Dunnet was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and one stolen base.

While Whiting had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.