Softball Game Preview: River Valley Panthers vs. Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers

The River Valley Panthers will head out on the road to challenge the Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

River Valley managed to slip by West Shamokin the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Panthers lost 8-2 to the Wolves on Wednesday.

River Valley saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Callie Reaugh, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one double.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Westmont Hilltop, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They came out on top against Bishop McCort by a score of 7-2 on Sunday.

Bella Kist made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Kist was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.

In other batting news, Kelsie Muto was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.

Westmont Hilltop is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.1 runs on average over those games. As for River Valley, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 8-1 and their overall record down to 8-2.

River Valley might still be hurting after the 11-1 loss they got from Westmont Hilltop when the teams last played back in May of 2022. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.