The Vanlue Wildcats will challenge the Liberty-Benton Eagles at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Vanlue has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the contest with five straight defeats, while Liberty-Benton will come in with eight straight victories.
It was a proper cat-fight when Vanlue challenged North Baltimore on Saturday. The Wildcats lost 21-2 to the Tigers.
Olivia Secord made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, Liberty-Benton won against Arcadia on Monday with ten runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. The Eagles put the hurt on Carey with a sharp 10-1 win. The Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by nine runs or more this season.
Reagan Knapke made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, Hayden Gillig was a standout: she scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. Kylie Steinman was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-5.
Liberty-Benton was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .406. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .353 or higher in four consecutive games.
Liberty-Benton pushed their record up to 8-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Vanlue, their loss dropped their record down to 1-7.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Vanlue has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Liberty-Benton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Vanlue might still be hurting after the 13-0 defeat they got from Liberty-Benton in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will the Wildcats have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
