For the first time this season, Bloomington South will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will challenge the Southport Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Bloomington South had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 12-run drubbing they dealt Shakamak on Saturday. The Panthers put the hurt on the Lakers with a sharp 16-4 victory. The win continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Lakers: they've now won four in a row.
Bloomington South got a massive performance out of Bella Simmons, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Abby Purtlebaugh was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one home run and four RBI.
Bloomington South was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .481. The last time their batting average was this high was back in March of 2024.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Southport). Everything went their way against Warren Central on Monday as they made off with an 11-2 victory. With that win, the Cardinals brought their scoring average up to 6.8 runs per game.
Southport let Hayli Pheonix and Natalie Vaeth run wild. Pheonix went 2-for-3 with one home run and three RBI, while Vaeth scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Those RBI marked the first that Pheonix brought in this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Rachel Pfieffer, who went 1-for-2 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Bloomington South now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Southport, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Bloomington South hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Southport struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Bloomington South took their victory against Southport in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
