Softball Game Preview: Gardner-South Wilmington Panthers vs. Grant Park Dragons

For the second straight game, Gardner-South Wilmington will face off against Grant Park. The Panthers will host the Dragons at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Gardner-South Wilmington is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.

Gardner-South Wilmington's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 5-0 victory over Grant Park. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Dragons recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Maddie Simms

Batters Struck Out

04/29/25 @ Grant Park	8
04/25/25 @ Reed-Custer	5
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 eight Ks. She has been consistent: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Liv Siano, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Nina Siano was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

This is the second loss in a row for Grant Park and nudges their season record down to 9-7. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 8 runs in those games. As for Gardner-South Wilmington, their victory bumped their record up to 12-8.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Gardner-South Wilmington has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Grant Park struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.