The Mountain Grove Panthers will take on the Plato Eagles at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Mountain Grove's last matchup with Houston could've gone either way, but unfortunately the same can't be said for the pair's game on Thursday. The Panthers came up short against the Tigers, falling 7-1. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Hannah Dowden spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered seven runs (all of which were unearned) on seven hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Mountain Grove saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Briley Curtiss, who went 2-for-3 with one double. That double was Curtiss' first of the season.
Fans were treated to a battle of the Eagles on Thursday. Plato blew past Fordland 13-2. Considering Plato has won 12 contests by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Taylor Utley was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. Utley was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
In other batting news, Plato got a massive performance out of Maci Shalbot, who went 2-for-3 with four stolen bases and three runs. Chloe Cook was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Plato was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .519. They are a perfect 11-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
The victory made it two in a row for Plato and bumps their season record up to 13-3. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 6 runs in those games. As for Mountain Grove, their loss dropped their record down to 5-7.
Mountain Grove skirted past Plato 12-10 in their previous matchup back in April of 2025. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Eagles turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
