The Illinois Valley High School girls softball team went up against the Lost River Raiders in two consecutive home games May 12.
Unfortunately, the games did not go as anticipated and the Lady Cougars took two resounding losses.
Play started out strong for the home team in the first half of the first game, with the Cougars managing to best the Raiders in the first two innings. In the third inning, the Raiders slowly began to creep up on the Lady Cougars, as the home team barely scraped ahead 3-2. This seemed to be jarring enough that it set the tone for the rest of the game, and by the end of it the Lady Cougs were defeated by the Raiders 15-7.
The second game was very much the same, with the Cougars managing to gain the upper hand in the beginning and the Raiders stealing it away from them. For every run the Cougars managed, the Raiders doubled or tripled it. Ultimately, the Cougars were defeated for a second time in the same day 17-4.
Across the field the IVHS boys baseball team also played a double-header against the Raiders, with the boys faring at least a little bit better than the girls team that day. The first game that they played was a close call as far as losses are concerned, with the Raiders only barely victorious 11-9. This game seemed to serve as a warm-up for the Cougar boys, who returned to the field fully prepared for their opponents’ tactics. The second baseball game ended in a close Cougar victory 5-4.