The Sheyenne Mustangs will venture away from home to face off against the Williston Coyotes at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Sheyenne is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of North Dakota's top teams: Horace, who was ranked 14th at the time (Sheyenne was ranked 19th). The Mustangs never let Horace get on the board and left with a 4-0 win on Saturday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Mustangs.
Meanwhile, Williston came tearing into May 13th's game with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Braves 18-0. The result was nothing new for the Coyotes, who have now won 13 matchups by eight runs or more so far this season.
Alana Thomas was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with one RBI. Those three hits gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Williston got a massive performance out of Allison Wilcox, who fired off five runs, three doubles, and three RBI while going 5-for-5. Those five hits gave Wilcox a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Mekiah Klumker, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, four runs, and three RBI.
Williston always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Turtle Mountain only posted an OBP of .250.
Williston's victory was their tenth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-2. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.4 runs over those games. As for Sheyenne, their record now sits at 12-8.
Sheyenne might still be hurting after the 10-0 defeat they got from Williston in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Can the Mustangs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
