Softball Game Preview: Urbana Tigers vs. Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers

The Urbana Tigers will challenge the Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Urbana headed into their last matchup having not scored more than two runs for five straight, but Heritage let them put that streak behind them. The Tigers were the clear victors by a 12-1 margin over the Hawks on Wednesday. The win continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Hawks: they've now won five in a row.

Sofia Reccio was a standout: she scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances. Baylee Russell was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 2-for-3.

Urbana always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. The last time their OBP was this high was back in March of 2024.

Meanwhile, Paxton-Buckley-Loda came into Tuesday's game having lost seven straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. Everything went their way against Watseka on Tuesday as they made off with a 20-9 victory. The Panthers' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda got a massive performance out of Hallee Johnson, who scored four runs and stole four bases while going 4-for-6. Johnson has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Devani McClatchey, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI.

Urbana's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-5. As for Paxton-Buckley-Loda, they picked up their first road victory, bumping their record up to 2-8.

Urbana suffered a grim 8-2 defeat to Paxton-Buckley-Loda in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.