Mankato West at Mankato East
4:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 28

With half the season in the books, things are looking awfully familiar in the Big 9 Conference.

Mankato West is 7-0 in league play and on track to capture its third-consecutive conference title, while Mankato East fights to keep pace. The Cougars placed third the last two years, but are 3-2 and have more ground to make up than in the prior seasons. 

Mankato East needs a second-half surge to flip the script, a run that could be sparked by a win over Mankato West. The Cougars nearly defeated the Scarlets on April 10, but Mankato West pulled out a victory when Krista Goerger's walk-off single to left-center field scored Lexi Schoper from third base in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Tory Richards and Lily Andrego each finished with two hits for Mankato Eat in the loss.

The Scarlet's have been outstanding, outscoring opponents 87-29 en route to a 9-1 overall record. Schoper struck out 15 batters in a 11-0 win over Northfield on April 16.