The Carroll Cougars will take on the Clinton Prairie Gophers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Carroll is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Clinton Central a 5-0 shutout.
Emily Justice
| 05/29/25 vs Clinton Central | 2 |
| 05/20/25 vs Clinton Prairie | 2 |
| 05/15/25 vs Winamac | 2 |
| 04/30/25 vs Clinton Prairie | 1 |
| 04/24/25 @ Delphi Community | 1 |
| + 2 more games |
Not much got past Emily Justice, who gave up just seven hits and racked up ten Ks to keep Clinton Central off the board. Justice has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Carroll let Madi Isley and Bree Hoke run wild. Isley went 1-for-4 with one home run, while Hoke went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI. That home run marked the first that Isley has launched this season. Olivia Schroder was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Carroll was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .405. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Clinton Central only posted a batting average of .259.
Meanwhile, Clinton Prairie hadn't done well against Frontier recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Gophers came out on top against the Falcons by a score of 7-2. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Gophers.
Sadie Weliver spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on eight hits and racked up nine Ks.
At the plate, Clinton Prairie saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kadie Fearnow, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Carroll is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for Clinton Prairie, their win bumped their record up to 18-8.
Friday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Carroll hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .347. However, it's not like Clinton Prairie struggles in that department as they've averaged .387. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Carroll couldn't quite finish off Clinton Prairie in their previous meeting last Tuesday and fell 8-6. Can the Cougars avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
