Shakamak is preparing for their first conference matchup of the season on Monday. They will head out on the road to challenge the Clay City Eels at 5:30 p.m.
Shakamak came up short against Bloomington South on Saturday, falling 16-4. The Lakers have struggled against the Panthers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.
Matt Hill was cooking despite her team's loss, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Clay City entered their tilt with Barr-Reeve on Friday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They came out on top against the Vikings by a score of 5-1. The game was the first time the Eels have beaten the Vikings on their field since April 10, 2021.
Lizzy Sinders made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in May of 2024. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run and one stolen base. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played.
In other batting news, Abigale Shearer was excellent, going 3-for-4 with one home run. She also brought in an RBI, marking her first of the season. Karlee Smith was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Clay City was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .387. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Clay City's victory was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-1. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for Shakamak, they now have a losing record of 1-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Shakamak hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Clay City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Shakamak suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Clay City in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Can the Lakers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
