Softball Game Preview: New Philadelphia Quakers vs. Lexington Minutemen

New Philadelphia is preparing for their first conference matchup of the season on Tuesday. They will be playing at home against the Lexington Minutemen at 5:00 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

On Saturday, New Philadelphia needed a bit of extra time to put away Tri-Valley. They skirted past the Scotties 5-4. That's two games straight that the Quakers have won by just one run.

Olivia Jackson spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up six Ks.

On the hitting side, Ellie Mason was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April of 2024. Sidney Vandall was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.

Meanwhile, Lexington sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over Ontario on Saturday.

Makaree Chapman made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Chapman was also big at the plate, getting on base in two of her three plate appearances with three stolen bases.

Chapman wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Camryn McGuire, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one RBI.

New Philadelphia came out on top in a nail-biter against Lexington in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. Will New Philadelphia repeat their success, or does Lexington has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.