The Panther Creek Catamounts will head out on the road to face off against the Wake Forest Cougars at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
While Catamounts fans will have to keep waiting for their team to come home, they shouldn't be too worried about the road trip considering the result of Monday's season opener. They walked away with a 9-4 win over Athens Drive on Monday.
Jessica Burk made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Burk was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cassidy Robinson, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Meghan Dracup, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Panther Creek hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Athens Drive struck out 11 times.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, Wake Forest made sure to put some runs up on the board against Enloe last Wednesday. Wake Forest put the hurt on Enloe with a sharp 13-2 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Cougars.
The result came thanks to Jil Livengood's shutout, as she gave up just a hit and racked up 15 Ks.
On the hitting side, Kaylee Bowers was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run, four runs, and one triple. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in runs. Nova Pate was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
Panther Creek couldn't quite finish off Wake Forest in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 and fell 6-4. Can Panther Creek avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
