Softball Game Preview: Marysville Monarchs vs. Olentangy Berlin Bears

The Marysville Monarchs will take on the Olentangy Berlin Bears at 5:15 p.m. on Monday. Marysville will be strutting in after a victory while Olentangy Berlin will be coming in after a defeat.

Olentangy Berlin will be up against a hot Marysville squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. The Monarchs had just enough and edged out Mathews 4-2.

Josie Bumgarner spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on six hits and racked up six Ks. Those six strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.

On the hitting side, Jaidan Hutchins was excellent, scoring a run while going 1-for-2. She also put up a double, which was her first of the season.

Meanwhile, Olentangy Berlin unfortunately witnessed the end of their six-game winning streak on Friday. They fell just short of Hilliard Darby by a score of 5-4.

Marysville's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-3-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Olentangy Berlin, their loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 7-2.

Everything went Marysville's way against Olentangy Berlin in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Marysville made off with a 12-0 win. Will the Monarchs repeat their success, or do the Bears have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.