Softball Game Preview: Manteno Panthers vs. Clifton Central Comets

Manteno is a perfect 8-0 against Clifton Central since April of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Comets at 4:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Manteno's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Lisle 6-0. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Lions recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.

Meanwhile, Clifton Central waltzed into their contest on Tuesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They were the clear victors by a 9-2 margin over the Panthers. Nine seems to be a good number for the Comets as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Emily Ponton spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on six hits.

At the plate, Clifton Central got a massive performance out of Lia Prairie, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. Prairie is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Blair Bottorff, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.

Clifton Central 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 Gardner-South Wilmington only posted a batting average of .231.

Clifton Central's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-6-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.6 runs on average over those games. As for Manteno, their victory bumped their record up to 11-3.

Everything went Manteno's way against Clifton Central in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Manteno made off with a 13-0 win. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Comets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.