Softball Game Preview: Fairbanks Panthers vs. Northeastern Jets

The Fairbanks Panthers will face off against the Northeastern Jets at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Fairbanks has 11 straight victories, Northeastern has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Fairbanks will bounce into Monday's game after beating Jonathan Alder, who they had gone 0-4 against in their four prior meetings. The Panthers walked away with a 12-9 win over the Pioneers on Saturday.

The team relied heavily on Claire Meihls, who went 1-for-5 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Kyah Hendren was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.

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 matches.

Meanwhile, Northeastern suffered their closest loss since March 22nd on Thursday. They fell just short of Grove City Christian by a score of 4-2.

Fairbanks' victory was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-1. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.9 runs over those games. As for Northeastern, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-9.

Everything went Fairbanks' way against Northeastern in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Fairbanks made off with an 11-4 victory. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Jets have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.