The Pope County Pirates will take on the Waltonville Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Pope County is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Shawnee 9-3. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Pirates.
Kacie Fritch
| 05/22/26 @ Shawnee | 14 |
| 05/20/26 vs Cobden | 15 |
| 05/15/26 vs DuQuoin | 3 |
| 05/14/26 @ Norris City-Omaha-Enfield | 2 |
| 05/13/26 vs Hardin County | 4 |
| + 21 more games |
Kacie Fritch spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three runs (all of which were unearned) on two hits and racked up 14 Ks. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 5.2 strikeouts per game.
At the plate, Bella Fasolo was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Riley Presser, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Waltonville got the win against Steeleville on Saturday by a conclusive 9-3. Considering the Spartans have won 19 contests by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Elyssa Schoenbaechler made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out 13 batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off six hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two runs and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Anistyn Wangler, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Alba Newbury, who earned two runs and two stolen bases.
Waltonville kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive matchups.
Pope County's record now sits at 14-15. As for Waltonville, their record is now 29-6.
