Softball Recap: Make It Six in a Row for Gardner-South Wilmington

Panthers

Margin (Wins)

05/08/25 @ Donovan	18
04/09/25 @ Woodland	18
04/14/25 @ St. Anne	15
03/28/25 vs Forreston	15
04/08/25 @ Momence	14

Gardner-South Wilmington came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Illinois Lutheran Chargers as they made off with a 10-0 win. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 contests by six runs or more this season.

Maddie Simms was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 13 over five innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one hit in four consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, firing off two home runs, three runs, and four RBI while going 3-for-4. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April.

In other batting news, Gardner-South Wilmington let Ella Mack and Liv Siano run wild. Mack went a perfect 4-for-4 with five RBI, one triple, and one stolen base, while Siano went 2-for-3 with one home run, four runs, and two stolen bases. Those five RBI gave Mack a new career-high. Lacey Rodriguez also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.

Gardner-South Wilmington hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in five consecutive games.

Gardner-South Wilmington pushed their record up to 19-9 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Illinois Lutheran, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 11-10.

Coming up, Gardner-South Wilmington will head out on the road to face off against Pontiac at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Panthers 3.8, the Indians 2.9) so any runs scored will be well earned. As for Illinois Lutheran, they will look to defend their home field on Wednesday against Donovan at 4:30 p.m. The Chargers are facing the Wildcats at the right time seeing as the Wildcats are stuck on a three-game losing streak.