The Marathon Red Raiders will take on the Newman Fighting Cardinals at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Newman took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Marathon, who comes in off a win.
Marathon is returning to their home field after beating Blair-Taylor on theirs, despite the fact Blair-Taylor has dominated at home this season. The Red Raiders had just enough and edged out the Wildcats 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Red Raiders have posted since April 21st.
Allison Podjaski made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off 11 hits (and not a single walk). Podjaski was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Those two RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Danica Staus was excellent, going 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Rehgan Martin was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one run.
Meanwhile, Newman was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their 13th straight loss dating back to last season. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 12-11 heartbreaker at the hands of Rib Lake. On the bright side, the 11- run performance marked the Fighting Cardinals' highest-scoring matchup to date.
Maddy Keene led a balanced group of hitters, going 2-for-5 with five RBI, two doubles, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Molly Merrill, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run.
The win got Marathon back to even at 7-7. As for Newman, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-12.
Marathon couldn't quite finish off Newman in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 and fell 8-6. Can the Red Raiders avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
