The Boonville Pioneers will face off against the Evansville Memorial Tigers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, Boonville was able to grind out a solid win over Princeton, taking the game 6-2. The victory continues a trend for the Pioneers in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won nine in a row.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Evansville Memorial). They blew past Evansville Bosse 21-1 on Wednesday. The win was some much needed relief for the Tigers as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Teagan Davis made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Those nine strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and one run.
In other batting news, Madison Thomas and Annie Blackburn did most of the damage at the plate: Thomas fired off two home runs, three runs, and four RBI while going 3-for-5, while Blackburn went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple. Those three RBI gave Blackburn a new career-high. Olivia Wollenmann was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Evansville Memorial always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .651. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Boonville's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-6. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Evansville Memorial, the victory got them back to even at 5-5.
Boonville came out on top in a nail-biter against Evansville Memorial in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, sneaking past 6-4. Do the Pioneers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Tigers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
