Champion has won three straight games at home (dating back to last season), while LaBrae has won three straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Monday. Champion will welcome LaBrae at 5:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Champion's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They blew past Perry 10-0. The game was the first time the Golden Flashes have beaten the Panthers on their field since March 31, 2018.
Gabrielle Gradishar made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Gradishar was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jonna Strock, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Taylor Rouan was another key player, going 1-for-2 with three runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, LaBrae won against Brookfield on Thursday with nine runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. LaBrae put the hurt on Brookfield with a sharp 9-0 victory. That nine run margin sets a new team best for the Vikings this season.
Like Champion, LaBrae also got a great game from a two-way player: Riley Rowe. She pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Furthermore, Rowe didn't allow a single earned run, the first time she has blanked an opponent since back in April of 2024. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run. That home run marked the first that she launched this season.
In other batting news, Leah DeArmitt was excellent, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Shelby Bragg, who scored two runs while going 2-for-2.
LaBrae kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits every time they've taken the field this season.
Champion's win bumped their record up to 2-0. As for LaBrae, their victory bumped their record up to 4-0.
Everything went Champion's way against LaBrae in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as Champion made off with a 10-1 win. Will Champion repeat their success, or does LaBrae has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
