The Jefferson Eagles will challenge the Waterloo Pirates at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Jefferson's pitching crew has only allowed 1.4 runs per game this season, so Waterloo's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Jefferson is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Wisconsin's top teams: Wisconsin Lutheran, who was ranked 13th at the time (Jefferson was ranked 17th). The Eagles fell 5-0 to the Vikings on Monday. The Eagles' loss signaled the end of their six-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Waterloo ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Palmyra-Eagle, sneaking past 4-3. The win continues a trend for the Pirates in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won three in a row.
Ally Schaumann spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on ten hits and racked up 12 Ks.
At the plate, Waterloo let Callie Davison and Madi McCarthy run wild. Davison went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases and two runs, while McCarthy went 3-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. Those three stolen bases gave Davison a new career-high. Mya Novak was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run.
Waterloo's victory bumped their record up to 7-8. As for Jefferson, their defeat dropped their record down to 14-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Jefferson has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Waterloo struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Jefferson's way against Waterloo in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as Jefferson made off with a 9-0 win. Do the Eagles have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Pirates turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
