Melissa is on a 21-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Midlothian is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Cardinals will welcome the Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Melissa is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They never let Wakeland get on the board and left with a 10-0 win. The Cardinals haven't had any issues with the Wolverines recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Eloisa Maes
| 05/02/25 @ Wakeland | 12 |
| 04/25/25 vs Texas | 6 |
| 04/23/25 @ Texas | 8 |
| 04/19/25 vs Bentonville | 9 |
| 04/17/25 @ Walnut Grove | 7 |
| + 6 more games |
Eloisa Maes tossed a big game, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in March.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Kennedy Bradley, who fired off two home runs and six RBI while going 2-for-3. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Finlee Williams, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two stolen bases and three runs.
Melissa lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now launched at least two home runs in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Midlothian got the win against White on Friday by a conclusive 26-0.
Midlothian also got a great performance from Austyn Pena as she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Pena has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Jocelyn Martinez was incredible, firing off two home runs, nine RBI, and three runs while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Madison Howard, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.
Midlothian has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 24-8-1 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Melissa, their victory bumped their record up to 32-0.
Midlothian's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Melissa has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Midlothian, though, as they've been averaging only 2.9 strikeouts. Will Melissa keep running through batters, or will the Panthers buck the trend?
Melissa skirted past Midlothian 3-2 in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. Will the Cardinals repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
