Gardner-South Wilmington put together its best season in a decade a year ago, and did so without a senior on the roster.

An experienced group of returners, with help from a talented freshman class, have been following up on that success and earned the 16th spot in the latest Class 1A Illinois Coaches Association softball poll released April 26.

This ranking was put to the test in this week’s River Valley Conference series with Clifton Central (4-15, 3-6), but after coming behind for a home win Tuesday, the Panthers (16-8, 8-2) held on for a 13-8 road win Thursday to complete the RVC sweep.

Senior Maddie Simms pitched the last three innings for the Panthers, recording five strikeouts and allowing two hits and three runs, just one which was earned.

She said it felt nice to pick up another conference sweep, the team’s fourth of the season, as her final regular season will soon enter its last two weeks.

“[Central] was a struggle this year for us, and we started off slow again, but we ended up hitting it really well,” she said. “It’s fun getting one last run with these seniors because we’ve been playing together since we were four, but also getting to play with the freshmen and getting to show them things has been really fun.”

Brynn Christensen has been a standout piece of that freshman class so far and got the start in the circle Thursday.

She surrendered two runs in the first, with Central’s Rayven Perkins and Emily Ponton each driving in a run, but settled in for three straight shutout innings after that.

It took the Panthers’ bats a little while to get going, but after entering the fifth inning tied 2-2, they erupted for nine runs in the frame to pull ahead by nine.

The Comets got to Christensen to open the bottom of the fifth, chasing her from the game with two walks, a double and single to open the inning, but Simms was able to settle things down a bit and keep G-SW’s lead at 11-5 heading to the sixth.

A pair of insurance runs for the Panthers in the sixth allowed them to stay somewhat comfortably ahead as the Comets added on three runs in the final two innings.

Simms was 3 for 4 with an RBI and a pair of runs. Ella Mack was 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run while Bree Stein was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs.

Christensen went 2 for 3 with a pair of walks, an RBI and a run Thursday and her .418 average on the season is second to Simms’ .494 mark. Her fellow freshmen Kaylee Tousignant (2 for 2, two RBIs, run) and Ellie Marquez (two runs) also had solid showing at the plate.

Christensen said she feels this freshman class has been able to settle in nicely.

“Things have been going pretty well,” she said. “We have had some tough games but we’ve battled through them. It’s definitely been tough for me because I’m trying to perform my best as a freshman, but overall we’re doing good.”

Matt Finn was an assistant on last season’s staff, marking a return to the program after 18 years away. He’s stepped into the head coaching role this season.

He said he was happy with how the team was able to withstand the pressure from the upset-minded Comets.

“Clifton comes right out of the dugouts swinging,” he said. “We just had to keep putting the ball in play, and we did. Brynn threw well as a freshman, Maddie came in to close it out. We had a couple of miscues, but we hung on.”

Central was led by Ponton offensively as she went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a run. Mia Perzee was 1 for 3 with a walk, two RBIs and two runs while Brynna Neveu had two walks and two runs.

Matti Lanie is in her first season as head coach with the Comets, and she said she’s been pleased with how the team has responded to a 1-11 start to the season by going 3-4 since.

“I have high expectations for the girls, and they’re reaching them,” she said. “I’m excited to see where we’re going to end up. We’re a young team, we’re a team that’s still meshing and still growing. Every day our mindset is getting better and every day our game is getting better.”