Southwestern is 8-1 against Vandalia since May of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Piasa Birds will challenge the Vandals at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Southwestern has eight straight victories, Vandalia has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Southwestern will bounce into Monday's game after beating Gillespie, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Piasa Birds were the clear victors by a 14-7 margin over the Miners on Tuesday. The Piasa Birds might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by seven runs or more this season.
Vivian Zurheide
| 04/29/25 vs Gillespie | 6 |
| 04/11/25 @ Hillsboro | 5 |
| 04/23/25 @ New Berlin | 4 |
| 04/15/25 vs North Mac | 4 |
| 04/08/25 vs North Greene | 3 |
Vivian Zurheide was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run, six RBI, and two runs. Those six RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kinley Lucas, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four runs and one RBI.
Southwestern was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .424. They are a perfect 9-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Vandalia didn't have quite enough to beat Carlinville on Friday and fell 7-6.
Mady McCall was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. Elaina Hagy was another key player, going 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Southwestern's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-3-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Vandalia, their loss dropped their record down to 4-13.
Everything went Southwestern's way against Vandalia in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as Southwestern made off with a 19-0 win. Do the Piasa Birds have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vandals turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
