The Wickliffe Blue Devils will venture away from home to square off against the Madison Blue Streaks at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Wickliffe's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Crestwood as they made off with an 11-0 win. The Blue Devils haven't had any issues with the Red Devils recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Leigha Blazetic
| 04/09/25 vs Crestwood | 13 |
| 04/01/25 vs Mayfield | 14 |
| 03/29/25 @ Lutheran West | 8 |
| 03/27/25 @ South | 14 |
The result came thanks to Leigha Blazetic's shutout, as she gave up just two hits and racked up 13 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts any time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Amanda Peklay, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3. She also put up two doubles, which were her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Mackayla Gazdak, who scored two runs while going 3-for-3.
Peklay wasn't the only one making solid contact: Wickliffe kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last contest, Madison made sure to put some runs up on the board against Conneaut on Wednesday. The Blue Streaks put the hurt on the Spartans with a sharp 20-1 win. That looming 20-1 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Blue Streaks yet this season.
Kara Mekulsia made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out 12 batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Mekulsia was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Madison got a massive performance out of Natalie Best, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. The dominant performance also gave Best a new career-high in RBI (three). Adrianna Mussell was another key player, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and four RBI.
Madison pushed their record up to 5-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.3 runs over those games. As for Wickliffe, their record now sits at 3-1.
Friday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Wickliffe hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .455. However, it's not like Madison struggles in that department as they've averaged .405. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
