Belgrade and Russell are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2021, but likely not for long. The Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Rustlers at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Belgrade is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.
Belgrade is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Montana's top teams: Skyview, who was ranked 22nd at the time (Belgrade was ranked tenth). The Panthers sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over the Falcons on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Panthers have posted since May 13, 2024.
Olivia Mills
| 04/24/25 vs Skyview | 15 |
| 04/08/25 vs Billings West | 14 |
| 05/25/24 vs Russell | 14 |
| 04/02/24 @ Butte | 14 |
| 04/11/24 @ Skyview | 13 |
Olivia Mills made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out 15 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). Those 15 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Mills wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Rylee Feight, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one run.
Belgrade hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are a perfect 7-0 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Russell couldn't beat Great Falls on Thursday even though they stacked four runs on them in the fourth inning. The Rustlers fell just short of the Bison by a score of 7-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Rustlers have suffered against the Bison since April 26, 2022.
Hailey Marr was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. That home run marked the first that she has launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Georgia Hatzenbeller, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with two runs.
The win made it two in a row for Belgrade and bumps their season record up to 9-4-1. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for Russell, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-8.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Belgrade hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Russell struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Belgrade's way against Russell when the teams last played on April 10th, as Belgrade made off with a 14-0 win. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rustlers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
