When Grant Park hosted Milford-Cissna Park on Wednesday, the meeting between a pair of promising Class 1A teams brought with it an intriguing matchup between two of the area’s top players.

While Addison Lucht’s two-run triple in the top of the third inning saw the visiting Bearcats (2-1) draw first blood, it was Cheyenne Hayes and the Dragons (4-0) who would have the last laugh.

After racking up 16 strikeouts in six innings while the Dragons fought back to take the lead, Hayes stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth and capped off a seven-run rally with a game-ending grand slam, sending her teammates to home plate to celebrate a 12-2 win.

“You don’t get better than 16 strikeouts and grand slam to end the game,” Hayes said. “It was a little tough at the beginning, going 0-0 and then trailing. But last year we beat them once and they beat us the first time, so we knew how they played and if we’d string some hits along, the [runs] would come.”

Hayes allowed just two hits Wednesday.

After a walk to Ellie Schwartz, an infield single from Kami Muehling set the table for the triple from the All-State slugger Lucht.

Hayes bounced back with six strikeouts in a row after that, and an intentional walk issued to Lucht in the sixth was the only other time the Bearcats would get a baserunner.

After the Dragons loaded the bases off of Muehling in each of the first two innings, they finally broke through in the third with a two-run double from Delaney Heldt and RBI singles from Kaylie Meherg and Reegan Thompson.

Thompson singled home Heldt in the fifth to put the Dragons up 5-2.

Claire Sluis got the game-winning rally started in the sixth with a one-out single, later scoring on a passed ball.

Meherg drove in two runs with a single and Thompson beat out an infield hit with two outs to load the bases for Hayes, who cleared them on the first pitch she saw.

Hayes emerged as a two-way threat two seasons ago as a sophomore, hitting .569 with five home runs and striking out 180 batters in 89⅓ innings with a 4.07 ERA.

She nearly cut that ERA in half to 2.13 last season, tallying 223 strikeouts in 118⅓ innings while hitting .529 with seven homers.

So far this season, she is 8 for 13 with 11 RBIs. In the circle, she has 36 strikeouts in 18 innings and has allowed just five hits and three earned runs.

“I just feel that over the years, I was never scared to get on the mound,” she said. “I was always confident, and I feel like that helped me with my strikeouts a lot. You have to come out there with a big mindset.”

Head coach Robert Crivokapich said he’s seen Hayes continue to develop as a pitcher over the years, with her increased maturity in the circle allowing her to make the most of the talent she showed early on.

“She’s just developed and grown up,” he said. “She’s got a better grasp of things as the game is going on, and keeping emotions out of it. That’s what a pitcher’s got to do, and it’s hard to do, and she’s gotten better every year.”

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Softball: Grant Park vs. Milford/Cissna Park Grant Park's Kaylie Meherg applauds a grand slam by teammate Cheyenne Hayes as she approaches home plate during Grant Park's 12-2 victory over Milford-Cissna Park in six innings on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Thompson was 3 for 3 with two walks, two RBIs and a run. Heldt was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and three runs while Meherg was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs.

The Dragons had eight walks and just three strikeouts as a team.

“It was really a team effort, and we were able to put the ball in play,” Thompson said. “I think everybody was able to contribute for us in some way today. Either they had some RBIs or were able to hit it and get on base.”

For the Bearcats, Lucht was 1 for 2 with a walk, two RBIs and a steal while Muehling was 1 for 3 with a run and Schwartz had a walk and a run.

With newcomers like Schwartz and Ainsley Niebuhr joining an experienced group led by Lucht and returning all-county players Muehling and Lillie Harris, head coach Alyse Morefield is excited to see how her team bounces back in a season with high expectations.

“I think we’re a better team than the score would show there,” Morefield said. “I think right now where we are in the season, three games, we have a lot of potential still moving forward and a lot of improvements and strides to be made. We’re going to keep getting better.”