The Southside Panthers will head out to take on the Gadsden City Titans at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
While Southside's victory against Oxford wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. Southside won by a run and slipped past Oxford 7-6. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Yellow Jackets recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Paxton Huddleston spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and four unearned) runs on eight hits. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
Rylann Shaw
| 03/11/25 vs Oxford | 4 |
| 02/22/24 @ Etowah | 3 |
| 03/06/25 vs Etowah | 2 |
| 02/27/25 @ Etowah | 2 |
| 05/07/24 vs Scottsboro | 2 |
On the hitting side, Rylann Shaw was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in hits. Jalyn Allen also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.
Meanwhile, Gadsden City hadn't done well against Glencoe recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. Gadsden City put the hurt on Glencoe with a sharp 11-1 victory. With that win, the Titans brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
The team relied heavily on Kiera Hampton, who went 1-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Shay Kitchens, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
The victory got Southside back to even at 4-4. As for Gadsden City, their win ended a six-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-10.
Thursday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Southside hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .379. However, it's not like Gadsden City struggles in that department as they've averaged .313. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Southside took their victory against Gadsden City when the teams last played back in April of 2017 by a conclusive 12-6. Will Southside repeat their success, or does Gadsden City have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
