Softball Game Preview: Boonville Pioneers vs. Evansville Mater Dei Wildcats

The Boonville Pioneers are taking a road trip to take on the Evansville Mater Dei Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The last three games Boonville has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Boonville is headed into the matchup having just suffered their closest defeat since April 12th on Tuesday. They fell just short of Castle by a score of 3-1. The Pioneers haven't had much luck with the Knights recently, as the team has come up short the last nine times they've met.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Evansville Mater Dei). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Evansville Bosse a 23-0 shutout on Tuesday. With that victory, the Wildcats brought their scoring average up to 6.9 runs per game.

Chelsea Merkley was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April.

In other batting news, Evansville Mater Dei got a massive performance out of Ingrid Damm, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Those five RBI gave Damm a new career-high. Addison Collins was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs.

Evansville Mater Dei was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .605. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Boonville's loss dropped their record down to 10-8. As for Evansville Mater Dei, they now have a winning record of 9-8.

Boonville skirted past Evansville Mater Dei 7-5 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Pioneers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.