The Clay City Eels will challenge the North Newton Spartans at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Clay City sitting on six straight wins and North Newton on ten.
Clay City is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. They never let Indianapolis Lutheran get on the board and left with a 3-0 victory.
Lizzy Sinders
| 06/09/25 vs Indianapolis Lutheran | 6 |
| 06/07/25 vs West Washington | 10 |
| 06/03/25 vs Orleans | 14 |
| 05/29/25 vs Bloomfield | 10 |
| 05/26/25 vs Cloverdale | 17 |
The result came thanks to Lizzy Sinders's shutout, as she gave up just two hits and racked up six Ks. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Karlee Smith was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Ellie Stoelting, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, North Newton put their dominant pitcher on display in the team's eighth consecutive shutout on Saturday. They were the clear victors by a 7-0 margin over Southwood. The result was nothing new for the Spartans, who have now won 13 matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Sydney Rainford made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 14 over seven innings pitched. Rainford was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run, one stolen base, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Paige Culbreth, who fired off two home runs and three RBI while going 2-for-3. What's more, she posted two runs, the most she's had since back in May. Riley Higgins was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two runs.
North Newton lost a few balls and finished the game with six home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Clay City's record is now 21-6. As for North Newton, their record now sits at 23-3-1.
