Softball Game Preview: Liberty Eagles vs. Illini West Chargers

The Liberty Eagles will take on the Illini West Chargers at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

While Liberty's win against Beardstown wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Eagles skirted past the Tigers 2-1. The Eagles haven't had any issues with the Tigers recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.

Liberty saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ava Heming, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Meanwhile, Illini West narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Beardstown 7-6. That's two games straight that the Chargers have won by just one run.

Hattie Wood looked comfortable as she pitched 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Illini West let Raina Flynn and AJ Cook run wild. Flynn scored a run while going 2-for-3, while Cook scored a run while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave Cook a new career-high in RBI (two).

Illini West's victory ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-9. As for Liberty, their win bumped their record up to 9-3.

Liberty beat Illini West 9-6 when the teams last played two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Eagles since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.