Softball Game Preview: Elyria Catholic Panthers vs. Mathews Mustangs

The Elyria Catholic Panthers will face off against the Mathews Mustangs at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Elyria Catholic sitting on 13 straight victories and Mathews on five.

On Wednesday, Elyria Catholic got the win against Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy by a conclusive 10-1. Considering the Panthers have won seven contests by more than eight runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.

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, Elyria Catholic got a massive performance out of Nadia Pagan, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four stolen bases, three runs, and one triple. That's the most stolen bases Pagan has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jessica Conner, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.

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.

Mathews' win was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-2. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for Elyria Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 13-0.