Softball Game Preview: Masuk Panthers vs. Southington Blue Knights

The Masuk Panthers will venture away from home to challenge the Southington Blue Knights at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Masuk is headed out to face Southington after opening their season at home and giving their fans just what they were looking for. The Panthers never let Warde get on the board and left with a 6-0 victory on Wednesday. The Panthers are really starting to get used to good results now that the team has won 29 straight dating back to last season.

Julia Bacoulis was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 15 over seven innings pitched. Bacoulis was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. That's the most runs she has posted since back in May of 2024.

In other batting news, Alyssa Castillo was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, Southington made easy work of Middletown on Wednesday and carried off a 14-0 win. The Blue Knights haven't had any issues with the Blue Dragons recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.

Like Masuk, Southington also got a great game from a two-way player: Shelby Jordan. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Jordan was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.

In other batting news, Aubrey Perugini and Reagan Salvatore did most of the damage at the plate: Perugini scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4, while Salvatore went 3-for-4 with four runs, four RBI, and one stolen base. Alexa Poutouves was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.

Masuk came out on top in a nail-biter against Southington in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.