Softball Game Preview: St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans vs. Monticello Sages

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Previous Games

04/29/24 - Home	2-0 W
05/01/23 - Away	10-13 L
05/02/22 - Home	16-9 W
05/01/21 - Away	12-3 W
05/14/19 - Neutral	11-0 W
+ 5 more games

St. Joseph-Ogden has gone 9-1 against Monticello recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. The Spartans are taking a road trip to square off against the Sages at 4:30 p.m. St. Joseph-Ogden will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.

St. Joseph-Ogden's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Centennial with a sharp 15-0 victory. Considering the Spartans have won 14 matchups by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.

Meanwhile, Monticello hadn't done well against Bloomington Central Catholic recently (they were 0-8 in their previous eight matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Sages walked away with a 7-2 win over the Saints. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Sages.

Cassidee Stoffel made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 19 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI.

In other batting news, Isabella Beery was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Thea Key was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.

Monticello pushed their record up to 18-5 with the victory, which was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for St. Joseph-Ogden, their record now sits at 19-7.

St. Joseph-Ogden came out on top in a nail-biter against Monticello in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, sneaking past 2-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Spartans since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.