Softball Game Preview: Northeastern Jets vs. Fairbanks Panthers

The Northeastern Jets will head out to face off against the Fairbanks Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Northeastern has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Fairbanks will arrive with 11 straight victories.

Northeastern came into this matchup off a tough ten-run loss on Wednesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Grove City Christian by a score of 4-2 on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Jets have suffered since March 22nd.

Meanwhile, Fairbanks hadn't done well against Jonathan Alder recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. The Panthers walked away with a 12-9 win over the Pioneers.

Claire Meihls was excellent, going 1-for-5 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Kyah Hendren also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.

Fairbanks was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .415. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .379 or higher in five consecutive games.

Fairbanks pushed their record up to 12-1 with the victory, which was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.9 runs on average over those games. As for Northeastern, their loss dropped their record down to 7-9.

Northeastern might still be hurting after the 11-4 defeat they got from Fairbanks when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Jets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.