Softball Game Preview: Baldwin Highlanders vs. Butler Golden Tornado

The Baldwin Highlanders will square off against the Butler Golden Tornado at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Butler took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Baldwin, who comes in off a win.

Baldwin took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They came out on top against Norwin by a score of 6-2.

Meanwhile, Butler came up short against New Castle on Wednesday and fell 19-15. Even if the Golden Tornado couldn't come away with the win, the high-scoring effort was a great turnaround for their hitters, which had struggled int the games prior.

Kaylin Garbinski led a balanced group of hitters, scoring a run while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Marissa Sklencar, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.

Even though they lost, Butler always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .543. The last time their OBP was this high was back in March of 2024.

This is the second loss in a row for Butler and nudges their season record down to 0-2-1. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for Baldwin, their victory bumped their record up to 3-1.

Baldwin beat Butler 8-3 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Will Baldwin repeat their success, or does Butler have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.