Softball Game Preview: Mt. Carmel Aces vs. Newton Eagles

The Mt. Carmel Aces will challenge the Newton Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Mt. Carmel will be strutting in after a win while Newton will be coming in after a defeat.

Mt. Carmel took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Hutsonville/Palestine as they made off with an 11-1 victory. The Aces might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matchups by seven runs or more this season.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Newton and St. Anthony meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Tuesday. The Eagles fell just short of the Bulldogs by a score of 4-3. The contest marked the Eagles' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Lexie Ghast spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four runs (all of which were unearned) on four hits and racked up eight Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Newton saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Paige Wagner, who went 2-for-3 with one run.

Mt. Carmel's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Newton, their loss dropped their record down to 9-5.