The Carmel Corsairs will head out to face off against the Oswego Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Oswego will be up against a hot Carmel squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. The Corsairs put the hurt on Lake Zurich with a sharp 16-3 win on Thursday. The Corsairs not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since May 18, 2024 (when they won 14-1).
Kaitlyn Konen made a splash while hitting and pitching. She tossed six innings while giving up three earned runs off seven hits. Konen was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two doubles. What's more, she posted two RBI, the most she's had since back in April.
In other batting news, Carmel let Grace King and Grace Brown run wild. King went a perfect 5-for-5 with six RBI, three runs, and two doubles, while Brown went 2-for-4 with four runs, two stolen bases, and three RBI. That's the most runs King has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Kate Buckingham, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Carmel kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 20 hits. They are a perfect 12-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Oswego faced off against Plainfield North on Monday. The Panthers' pitcher stepped up to hand the Tigers a 10-0 shutout. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Tigers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Aubriella Garza made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kennedy Gengler, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Rikka Ludvigson, who went 3-for-5 with one run and one double.
Oswego's win was their 18th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 26-1. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.8 runs over those games. As for Carmel, their record now sits at 15-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Carmel hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Oswego struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
