Softball Game Preview: Clifton Central Comets vs. South Newton Rebels

The Clifton Central Comets will head out to face off against the South Newton Rebels at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Clifton Central has three straight victories, South Newton has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

On Thursday, Clifton Central made easy work of St. Anne and carried off an 11-1 win. Considering the Comets have won six matchups by more than nine runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.

Clifton Central got a massive performance out of Rayven Perkins, who scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Those three stolen bases gave Perkins a new career-high. Keira Donnelly was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two triples, two runs, and one RBI.

Clifton Central hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least three batters in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, South Newton had to start their season on the road on Thursday, and it wasn't the start they were hoping for. They came up short against Hanover Central, falling 13-1.

South Newton saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Livia Kollman, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one double.

Clifton Central pushed their record up to 8-4-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for South Newton, their loss dropped their record down to 0-1.

Everything went Clifton Central's way against South Newton in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, as Clifton Central made off with a 26-2 victory. Will the Comets repeat their success, or do the Rebels have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.