The Evansville Reitz Panthers will face off against the Jasper Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Evansville Reitz is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Evansville Harrison a 12-0 shutout on Tuesday. The Panthers not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since May 16, 2024.
Not much got past Ella Ellerbrook, who gave up just five hits and racked up ten Ks to keep Evansville Harrison off the board. Those ten strikeouts set a new season-high mark for Ellerbrook.
Ava Leeds
| 04/15/25 @ Evansville Harrison | 4 |
| 05/20/24 vs Evansville Central | 2 |
| 05/10/24 vs Evansville Central | 2 |
| 04/08/25 vs North Posey | 1 |
| 03/27/25 vs Normal West | 1 |
On the hitting side, Evansville Reitz let Kinley Miller and Ava Leeds run wild. Miller scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4, while Leeds went 3-for-4 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run. Those four RBI gave Leeds a new career-high. Sadey Jones was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
They weren't the only one making solid contact: Evansville Reitz kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are 2-1 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, Jasper won against New Prairie on Saturday with 11 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. The Wildcats beat Southridge by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 11-1. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by nine runs or more this season.
Ella Erny and Olivia Young did most of the damage at the plate: Erny scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Young got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Ayla Elkins, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
The victory was the third in a row for Jasper, bringing their record up to 7-3. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Evansville Reitz, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 3-5.
Friday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Evansville Reitz hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .315. However, it's not like Jasper struggles in that department as they've averaged .348. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Evansville Reitz beat Jasper 6-2 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
