Softball Recap: Utica Wins Going Away Against Athens

Utica barely beat Athens the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Chieftains put the hurt on the Red Hawks with a sharp 15-5 victory on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Chieftains in their matchups with the Red Hawks: they've now won four in a row.

Violet Smith

Batters Struck Out (Career)

05/26/26 @ Athens	17
05/07/25 @ Lakeview	14
04/17/25 @ Marysville	13
04/29/26 @ Fraser	12
05/05/25 @ Utica Eisenhower	11

Violet Smith made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out 17 batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Those 17 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

In other batting news, Utica got a massive performance out of Kylie Condon, who fired off three triples, three runs, and four RBI while going 3-for-4. Those three triples gave Condon a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Rachel Durecki, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with five RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.

Utica was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .486. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Athens only posted a batting average of .167.

Utica's record is now 13-15. As for Athens, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 8-19.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming matchups. Utica will head out to square off against Algonac at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Muskrats have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 7.08 runs per game on average), something the Chieftains will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Athens, they are taking a road trip to take on Troy at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.