The Catholic Central Hilltoppers will face off against the Luther Prep Phoenix at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Catholic Central is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past St. Francis 14-3 on Thursday. With that win, the Hilltoppers brought their scoring average up to 6.6 runs per game.
Isabella Gratton
| 05/08/25 vs St. Francis | 3 |
| 04/29/25 @ Racine Lutheran | 2 |
| 04/04/25 @ Shoreland Lutheran | 2 |
| 04/22/25 vs Living Word Lutheran | 1 |
| 04/17/25 @ Dominican | 1 |
Jenna Pechous and Isabella Gratton made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Pechous pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Gratton struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. Pechous has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Pechous went 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI, while Gratton went 3-for-5 with two runs and one stolen base. Those three hits gave Gratton a new career-high.
In other batting news, Catholic Central got a massive performance out of Molly Brauer, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Marlowe Wilson, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one double.
Catholic Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .632. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Luther Prep entered their tilt with Living Word Lutheran on Thursday with five consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with six. They put the hurt on the Timberwolves with a sharp 9-1 victory. Considering the Phoenix have won seven contests by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Addy Schmidt and Kiara Humann made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Schmidt tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Humann didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. At the plate, Schmidt went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and one triple, while Humann went 2-for-4 with one run. That triple was Schmidt's first of the season.
In other batting news, Arabella Timm was excellent, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with one run and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Callie Peil, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Luther Prep pushed their record up to 7-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Catholic Central, the win snapped their losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 4-7 record.
Catholic Central might still be hurting after the 12-2 defeat they got from Luther Prep in their previous matchup on Tuesday. Will the Hilltoppers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
