Softball Game Preview: Mt. Spokane Wildcats vs. Shadle Park Highlanders

The Mt. Spokane Wildcats will venture away from home to challenge the Shadle Park Highlanders at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Mt. Spokane will come into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.

Mt. Spokane's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Gonzaga Prep with a sharp 12-0 victory. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 16 games by six runs or more this season.

Meanwhile, Shadle Park made easy work of Central Valley on Tuesday and carried off a 13-1 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Highlanders.

McKenzie Duncan made a splash no matter where she played. She tossed five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two runs and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Bethany Rinas, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBI, two runs, and two doubles. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Maddie Mann, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

Mt. Spokane pushed their record up to 18-0 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home. The team's perfect season has a lot to do with their hitting performance: the team's won by an average of 10.9 runs thus far. As for Shadle Park, their record is now 7-10.

Everything went Mt. Spokane's way against Shadle Park when the teams last played on April 4th, as Mt. Spokane made off with a 15-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.