Softball Game Preview: Marshfield Tigers vs. Merrill Bluejays

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Previous Games

04/25/24 - Home	6-2 W
04/25/24 - Away	7-3 W
04/02/24 - Away	6-2 W
04/27/23 - Away	15-5 W
04/27/23 - Away	6-5 W
+ 4 more games

Marshfield is a perfect 9-0 against Merrill since April of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Tigers will take on the Bluejays at 4:30 p.m. Marshfield's pitching crew has only allowed three runs per game this season, so Merrill's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Marshfield fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Lakeland on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Thunderbirds by a score of 3-2. That makes it the first time this season the Tigers have let down their home crowd.

Molly Fox spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits and racked up seven Ks.

At the plate, Marshfield saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lydia Garvin, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.

Meanwhile, Merrill is still undefeated this season after their match against Wausau West on Tuesday, but Wausau West came as close as anyone has to beating them. The Bluejays came out on top in a nail-biter against the Warriors, sneaking past 6-4. While the Bluejays didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

Merrill's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 4-0. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Marshfield, the defeat was their first at home , dropping their record down to 4-2.

Marshfield was able to grind out a solid victory over Merrill when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 6-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.