Softball Game Preview: Pickerington North Panthers vs. Dublin Coffman Rocks

The Pickerington North Panthers will venture away from home to square off against the Dublin Coffman Rocks at 5:00 p.m. on Monday.

Pickerington North easily dispatched Bishop Hartley on Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Panthers fell just short of Liberty Union by a score of 5-3 on Wednesday. The Panthers' defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Dublin Coffman got the win against Dublin Jerome on Saturday by a conclusive 12-4. The Rocks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 contests by seven runs or more this season.

Caraline Olberding made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in April. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with three runs.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on DeLaney Makuh, who went 3-for-4 with five RBI, three doubles, and one run. Those three doubles gave her a new career-high. Kyla Ruiz Beech was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.

Dublin Coffman kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 12 hits in four consecutive matchups.

Dublin Coffman's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 15-11. As for Pickerington North, their loss dropped their record down to 13-13-1.

Pickerington North was able to grind out a solid victory over Dublin Coffman when the teams last played last Friday, winning 7-4. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rocks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.