Softball Game Preview: Gardner-South Wilmington Panthers vs. Reed-Custer Comets

Gardner-South Wilmington hasn't had much luck against Reed-Custer recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Comets at 4:30 p.m. Gardner-South Wilmington is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.1 runs per game this season.

Gardner-South Wilmington will bounce into Friday's match after beating Clifton Central, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. The Panthers' pitcher stepped up to hand the Comets a 6-0 shutout on Thursday. Considering the Panthers have won eight contests by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.

Maddie Simms

Batters Struck Out

04/24/25 vs Clifton Central	18
04/21/25 vs Newark	8
04/17/25 vs Serena	7
04/16/25 vs Iroquois West	5

The result came thanks to Maddie Simms's shutout, as she gave up just a hit and racked up 18 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Nina Siano was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Liv Siano, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Reed-Custer came up short against Herscher on Tuesday and fell 9-4. The Comets have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Reed-Custer now has a losing record of 7-8. As for Gardner-South Wilmington, their win bumped their record up to 11-7.

Gardner-South Wilmington suffered a grim 9-0 defeat to Reed-Custer in their previous matchup back in March of 2022. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.