Softball Game Preview: Slinger Owls vs. Oshkosh North Spartans

The Slinger Owls are taking a road trip to face off against the Oshkosh North Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Slinger's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs every time they've taken the field this season.

Slinger took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They never let Grafton get on the board and left with a 15-0 victory. The Owls haven't had any issues with the Black Hawks recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Oshkosh North). Everything went their way against Appleton West on Thursday as they made off with a 7-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Spartans.

Kara Cummings made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over seven innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in April of 2024. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. That run marked the first that she scored this season.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Emma Niemczyk, who scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Those three runs gave her a new career-high. Sophia Housworth was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.

Oshkosh North was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .406. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Slinger now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Oshkosh North, the win got them back to even at 2-2.

Slinger might still be hurting after the 10-0 defeat they got from Oshkosh North when the teams last played back in May of 2016. Can the Owls avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.