Steeleville is 2-8 against Marissa/Coulterville since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Warriors will challenge the Meteors at 4:30 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Tuesday.
Steeleville took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Gibault Catholic with a sharp 8-2 victory.
Corinne Mueller made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. She was even better at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two runs.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Zoey Wolf, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Karsen Wedemeyer, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one double.
Steeleville lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since back in May of 2024.
Marissa/Coulterville came out on top against Valmeyer on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive six-run seventh inning. The Meteors' pitcher stepped up to hand the Pirates a 7-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Meteors, who have now won seven contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
Like Steeleville, Marissa/Coulterville also got a great game from a two-way player: Analiese Howell. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave Howell a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
Howell wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Paityn Hand, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Ayla Ranck also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
The win was the third in a row for Marissa/Coulterville, bringing their record up to 9-4. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for Steeleville, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 4-7 record this season.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Steeleville hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Marissa/Coulterville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Steeleville might still be hurting after the 10-3 defeat they got from Marissa/Coulterville when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Warriors avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
