Softball Game Preview: South Vermillion Wildcats vs. Riverton Parke Panthers

The South Vermillion Wildcats will square off against the Riverton Parke Panthers at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when South Vermillion and Parke Heritage meet (four straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Friday. The Wildcats put the hurt on the Wolves with a sharp 13-1 victory. Considering the Wildcats' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.

Shaylee Wallace made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in May of 2024. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three RBI.

Layla Mackey

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/11/25 @ Parke Heritage	3
05/02/24 @ North Montgomery	2
04/16/24 @ North Vermillion	2
05/06/24 vs Attica	1
04/25/24 @ Seeger	1

In other batting news, Layla Mackey was a standout: she scored a run while going 2-for-4. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in RBI (three). Rosie Travioli was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Riverton Parke strolled into their game on Friday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They never let North Vermillion get on the board and left with an 11-0 win. Considering the Panthers have won four matches by more than nine runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Riverton Parke pushed their record up to 5-0 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for South Vermillion, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.

South Vermillion came up short against Riverton Parke when the teams last played back in April of 2024, falling 9-5. Can the Wildcats avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.