Southwestern hasn't had much luck against Columbia recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Piasa Birds will take on the Eagles at 4:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Southwestern will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Wednesday, then bounced right back against Vandalia on Thursday. The Piasa Birds were the clear victors by a 14-3 margin over the Vandals. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Piasa Birds' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Grace Strohbeck spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on three hits.
On the hitting side, Madison Fenstermaker and Vivian Zurheide did most of the damage at the plate: Fenstermaker went 3-for-5 with four runs, two triples, and one RBI, while Zurheide went 3-for-4 with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. That's the most runs Zurheide has posted since back in April. Samantha Stormer also deserves some recognition as she got her first hit of the season.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Southwestern kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Vandalia only managed two hits.
Columbia came out on top against Salem on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive four-run fifth inning. The Eagles' pitchers stepped up to hand the Wildcats an 8-0 shutout. The game was the first time the Eagles have beaten the Wildcats on their field since April 26, 2022.
Southwestern has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 13 of their last 15 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-5-1 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Columbia, their record is now 21-5.
Southwestern came up short against Columbia in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, falling 3-0. Can the Piasa Birds avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
