Softball Game Preview: Masuk Panthers vs. Cheshire Rams

The Masuk Panthers will face off against the Cheshire Rams at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a four-game winning streak alive.

Masuk's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. Everything went their way against Notre Dame Prep as they made off with a 12-0 victory. Considering the Panthers have won five games by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.

Julia Bacoulis made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over six innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-5 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. That triple was her first of the season.

Grace Ely

Runs (Career)

04/28/25 vs Notre Dame Prep	5
04/24/25 vs New Fairfield	3
04/23/25 @ Stratford	3
05/07/24 @ Bunnell	3
04/22/25 @ New Milford	2

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Grace Ely, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with four stolen bases, five runs, and one triple. Those five runs gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Josie Lieto, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

Masuk always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .634. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Cheshire's rock-solid pitchers showed up for the team's fourth consecutive shutout on Monday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Amity Regional, sneaking past 1-0.

Masuk's record is now 7-1. As for Cheshire, their record now sits at 11-1.

Masuk beat Cheshire 10-6 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Rams have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.