Coming off a fourth straight season winning a regional, Coal City got off to a hot start in 2026.

But after winning five of their first six games, and temporarily losing a few key players, the Coalers bridged March and April with a six-game losing streak.

But they have been firing on all cylinders since getting back to full strength and ending that streak. Monday’s road win over Herscher (5-13, 2-5 ICE) gave the Coalers (13-9, 5-2) their eighth win in the past 10 games and fifth straight win in Illinois Central Eight Conference play.

Senior catcher Khloe Picard was 4 for 5 with three doubles, three runs scored and an RBI to lead a Coalers lineup in which five players had multi-hit games, seven had at least one RBI and eight scored at least one run.

“I feel really good, and we all played hard for a team win,” Picard said. “I feel more like a leader [this year], and I feel like a lot of the [players] look up to me, and I really, really appreciate that. I’m just glad we can all work together.”

Picard hit .415 as a freshman and .364 as a sophomore before upping her average to .455 last season.

She’s back at it as a senior, and coach Rodney Monbrum said her presence has been vital to the team over the years.

“I would put her up against anybody at the plate, and offensively she’s as good as any hitter in the area,” he said. “She’s going on to play at the next level [at Purdue-Northwest], and she’ll have success there. I’m just proud of being able to coach her for four years and what she’s been able to do offensively and defensively.”

Picard’s one-out infield single in the top of the first inning gave the Coalers their first baserunner. She scored on an infield single from Addison Harvey two batters later.

The host Tigers responded with an RBI double from Chloe Kinkade and Keira Ahramovich scoring on a wild pitch to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

That lead was short-lived as Leah Jensen drove in a run and Masyn Kuder drove in a pair in the top of the second to put the Coalers up 4-2.

Kuder allowed one run over the next three innings, and the Coalers added a run in the third on a Sydney Larson groundout and four more in the fourth on a groundout from Kuder, a single from Harvey, a triple by Ava Mills and a single from Rileigh Eddy.

Each team scored a run in the fifth and three runs in the sixth before the Coalers added one more in the top of the seventh to take a 14-7 lead into the seventh.

The Tigers threatened in the seventh, taking advantage of four Coaler errors to score three runs, but came up short.

The victory for Coal City came two days after an 8-7 win over Joliet West, a team the Coalers lost to 14-3 on April 2 for the final loss of that six-game skid.

Monbrum said these last two wins show how well the team has responded.

“We’ve got our lineup back, and we’re winning some games,” he said. “We’re sitting at 13-9 right now, four games over .500, and I’m happy with where we’re at. I like our schedule coming up and think we can be competitive.”

Harvey, Mills and Eddy had three hits each, with Harvey driving in three runs and scoring two and Mills driving in a pair. Kuder struck out seven in six innings.

For the Tigers, Ahramovich, Kinkade and Mikaela Vadeboncouer each had two hits and Kinkade and Vadeboncouer each had three RBIs. Reese Hartman had a hit, two walks and scored four runs.

Coach Mike Cann said he was happy with how the game started before seven Tiger errors proved too much to overcome.

“We battled early, but the extra outs per inning, they just catch up to you, and that’s how the big innings happen,” he said. “Next thing, you look up and it’s 10-4. But we battled back.

“Never say die. If we get another walk or two there, or an error and someone gets a home run, that’s a crazy ballgame.”

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Softball: Herscher vs. Coal City Herscher's Lilly Tucek fields a bunt by Coal City's Sydney Larson during Coal City's 14-10 victory over Herscher on Monday, April 20, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)