Softball Game Preview: Plainfield Central Wildcats vs. Minooka Indians

The Plainfield Central Wildcats will challenge the Minooka Indians at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Plainfield Central fell victim to Oswego and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They lost 10-0 to the Panthers. The loss continues a trend for the Wildcats in their meetings with the Panthers: they've now lost four in a row.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Minooka). They never let Joliet Central get on the board and left with a 22-0 victory on Wednesday. The Indians haven't had any issues with the Steelmen recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.

Emma Best made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out eight over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those two RBI gave her a new career-high.

In other batting news, Minooka got a massive performance out of Gracie Anderson, who fired off two home runs, six RBI, and three runs while going 2-for-3. Those six RBI gave Anderson a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Addisonn Crumly, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs.

Minooka kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least ten hits in four consecutive matchups.

Minooka pushed their record up to 13-7 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Plainfield Central, they now have a losing record of 9-10-1.

Plainfield Central might still be hurting after the 15-0 defeat they got from Minooka in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will the Wildcats have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.