The Brodhead Cardinals will square off against the Big Foot Chiefs at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The last three games Brodhead has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Brodhead took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They skirted past Clinton 4-2. The Cardinals haven't had any issues with the Cougars recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.
Ava Risum made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 13 over seven innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Risum wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Leah Rear, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one double. Mady Henning also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Big Foot). They blew past Edgerton 20-3 on Thursday. The Chiefs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by seven runs or more this season.
The team relied heavily on Lily Wolf, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Natalie Klamm, who went 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBI.
Big Foot hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They are a perfect 7-0 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Brodhead's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-2. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Big Foot, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season.
Big Foot's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. Brodhead has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 13.2 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Big Foot, though, as they've been averaging only 4 strikeouts. Will Brodhead keep running through batters, or will the Chiefs buck the trend?
Brodhead couldn't quite finish off Big Foot in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can the Cardinals avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
