Softball Game Preview: Melrose-Mindoro Mustangs vs. Osseo-Fairchild Thunder

The Melrose-Mindoro Mustangs will face off against the Osseo-Fairchild Thunder at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Neither Melrose-Mindoro nor Osseo-Fairchild posted many runs in their last games, so it might be the pitching crews that decide this one.

Melrose-Mindoro is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Augusta just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Monday. They took a 5-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Beavers. Mustangs fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Beavers since on Monday.

Emma Severson spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five runs (all of which were unearned) on four hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Melrose-Mindoro saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Bella Rozek, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

Meanwhile, Osseo-Fairchild fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Whitehall on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Norse by a score of 3-2. The Thunder have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Osseo-Fairchild's defeat dropped their record down to 3-10. As for Melrose-Mindoro, their loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 7-1 and their overall record down to 15-3.

Everything went Melrose-Mindoro's way against Osseo-Fairchild when the teams last played back in April, as Melrose-Mindoro made off with a 15-0 win. Will the Mustangs repeat their success, or do the Thunder have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.