The Clay Panthers will challenge the McClain Tigers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Clay has five straight victories, McClain has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Clay's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by an 18-0 margin over Western. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 contests by eight runs or more this season.
Elin Shaw made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with four runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
Alayna Shepherd
| 05/06/26 vs Western | 5 |
| 04/27/26 vs East | 3 |
| 04/22/26 @ Glenwood | 3 |
| 04/30/26 vs Peebles | 2 |
| 04/28/26 vs South Gallia | 2 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Alayna Shepherd, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs, five RBI, and two doubles. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Heidi Smith, who went 3-for-4 with four runs and two triples.
Meanwhile, McClain came up short against Hillsboro last Wednesday and fell 10-7.
McClain got a big performance out of Kambriah Tomlin, who went 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Amaya Ryan was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one home run.
McClain's loss dropped their record down to 7-12. As for Clay, their win bumped their record up to 18-7.
McClain's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Clay has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.7 hits per game. It's a different story for McClain, though, as they've been averaging 10.1 hits. Given Clay's sizable advantage in that area, the Tigers will need to find a way to close that gap. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
