Softball Game Preview: Diamond Wildcats vs. Strafford Indians

Wildcats

Runs

04/17/25 vs Sarcoxie	8
04/16/25 @ Skyline	1
04/15/25 @ Miller	8
04/14/25 vs Lamar	9
04/12/25 vs West County	8
+ 16 more games

Diamond and Strafford are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2016, but likely not for long. The Wildcats will square off against the Indians at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Diamond is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.8 runs per game this season.

Diamond took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Sarcoxie with a sharp 8-2 victory. The Wildcats haven't had any issues with the Bears recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Sara Roszell spent all 7.2 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits and racked up eight Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Lauren Turner was incredible, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two stolen bases. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in March. Paige Marbough also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, Strafford came up short against Clever on Thursday and fell 8-4.

Presley McCain made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Kaelyn Rhodes, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Strafford's loss dropped their record down to 8-12. As for Diamond, their victory bumped their record up to 17-4.

Diamond was able to grind out a solid win over Strafford in their previous matchup back in March, winning 8-4. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Indians have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.