Softball Game Preview: Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers vs. Blue Ridge Knights

The Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers will take on the Blue Ridge Knights at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Paxton-Buckley-Loda is coming into the game on a five-game losing streak.

On Monday, Paxton-Buckley-Loda came up short against Clifton Central and fell 9-4.

Hallee Johnson was cooking despite her team's loss, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one triple.

Meanwhile, Blue Ridge owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Friday. They walked away with a 3-0 win over Tri-County [Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland]. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Knights.

Not much got past Ellie Schlieper, who gave up just five hits and racked up 14 Ks to keep Tri-County [Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland] off the board. Schlieper has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Blue Ridge's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Addison Roos, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double. Presley Hardesty also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen bases of the season.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda's defeat dropped their record down to 3-13. As for Blue Ridge, their win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 5-7.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda came out on top in a nail-biter against Blue Ridge in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 7-6. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.