The Eureka Wildcats will take on the Northwest Lions at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Eureka has seven straight wins, Northwest has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Friday, Eureka made easy work of Parkway Central and carried off a 9-2 victory. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by six runs or more this season.
Paige Deakin made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off 12 hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one double.
In other batting news, Maddie Rakey and Alina Logush did most of the damage at the plate: Rakey went 1-for-3 with four RBI, one triple, and one run, while Logush went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and one run. Another player making a difference was Maddy Wilken, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two RBI and one run.
Eureka was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .321 or higher in five consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Northwest fell victim to Parkway West and their airtight pitching crew on Monday. They came up short against the Longhorns, falling 10-0. Surprisingly, this marked the Lions' fourth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Kaylee Eddings spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and eight unearned) runs on eight hits and racked up seven Ks.
Eureka's win bumped their record up to 11-2. As for Northwest, their loss dropped their record down to 7-13.
Eureka was able to grind out a solid victory over Northwest when the teams last played back in October of 2024, winning 5-1. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Lions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
