Softball Preview: Millard North Mustangs vs. Bellevue East Chieftains
The Millard North Mustangs are taking a road trip to challenge the Bellevue East Chieftains at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Millard North is looking to tack on another W to their 11-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Millard North is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Papillion-LaVista South, who was ranked 24th in their home state at the time (Millard North was ranked second). Millard North fell just short of Papillion-LaVista South by a score of 3-1 on Saturday. Having soared to a lofty 17 runs in the game before, the Mustangs couldn't push the score so high this time.
Hayden Nelson made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-2 with a home run.
Meanwhile, Bellevue East was not the first on the board on Saturday, but they got there more often. They walked away with a 6-2 win over Elkhorn. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Chieftains.
The team relied heavily on Cota Barmore, who went 1-for-2 with a home run, two stolen bases, and two stolen bases. The team also got some help courtesy of Haley Demontel, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Millard North's defeat ended a 13-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 22-6. As for Bellevue East, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 18-7 record this season.
Monday's matchup will be a test for both team's pitchers. Millard North hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of 0. However, it's not like Bellevue East struggles in that department as they've averaged 0. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Millard North's way against Bellevue East in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as Millard North made off with a 15-4 victory. Will Millard North repeat their success, or does Bellevue East have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
