Softball Game Preview: Mathews Mustangs vs. Elyria Catholic Panthers

The Mathews Mustangs are taking a road trip to take on the Elyria Catholic Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Mathews sitting on five straight victories and Elyria Catholic on 13.

The home team had won the previous four meetings between Mathews and Chalker, and Mathews kept the tradition alive. The Mustangs' pitchers stepped up to hand the Wildcats a 4-0 shutout on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Elyria Catholic made easy work of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy on Wednesday and carried off a 10-1 win. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matches by nine runs or more this season.

Kailey Tomasch spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up 12 Ks.

On the hitting side, Nadia Pagan was a standout: she got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four stolen bases, three runs, and one triple. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 1.1 stolen bases per game. Another player making a difference was Jessica Conner, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.

Mathews pushed their record up to 12-2 with the victory, which was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.6 runs over those games. As for Elyria Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 13-0.