The Pleasant Plains Cardinals will face off against the Springfield Senators at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Pleasant Plains is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8 runs per game this season.
Pleasant Plains barely beat North Mac the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Cardinals put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 11-2 victory on Wednesday.
Anna Nestler
| 05/14/25 @ North Mac | 1 |
| 05/08/25 vs Tri-City | 1 |
| 05/05/25 @ Lincoln | 1 |
| 05/02/25 @ Lincolnwood | 0 |
| 04/29/25 vs New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly | 1 |
Anna Nestler made a splash no matter where she played. She tossed seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in two of her four plate appearances with two runs.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lexie Shimkus, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Peyton Davis, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Meanwhile, Springfield has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging 3.25 runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Tuesday. They came up short against Rochester, falling 21-1. Having soared to a lofty ten runs in the game before, the Senators couldn't push the score so high this time.
Pleasant Plains is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 13 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-8-1 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Springfield, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 15-5.
Springfield's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Pleasant Plains hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .327. It's a different story for Springfield, though, as they've only averaged .258. Will they be able to contain Pleasant Plains' hitters?
Pleasant Plains couldn't quite finish off Springfield when the teams last played back in April of 2023 and fell 3-1. Can the Cardinals avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
