With Manteno trailing Illinois Central Eight Conference rival Herscher by four runs through the first 2½ innings on Tuesday, Panthers coach Josh Carlile saw Maddy Delya start to pitch angry.

“She looked like she added a little velocity, and especially that pitch that has a little bit of upper movement on it was getting above their hands,” Carlile said. “They weren’t getting quite as solid of a barrel, getting a little bit more lift, and we were able to get under the ball. We have exceptionally fast outfielders, and even though there’s a zillion acres out here, they track the ball down.”

Delya settled in on the rubber and joined her Panthers teammates in an aggressive offensive attack, hitting the go-ahead two-run double in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s 10-8 win that gave the Panthers (20-6, 12-2 ICE) a sweep in their last conference series of the season and their seventh straight 20-win season (excluding the COVID-19-shortened 2021 season).

“Honestly, I was just trying to get more movement on it,” said of her pitching. “Throwing it down the middle doesn’t seem to be working on it. I’d say I was pitching a little angry, a couple errors. But at the end of the day, you just have to trust your defense.”

And when she took to the dish with runners on first and second in a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the fifth, her approach was quite simple.

“Just see the ball,” she said. “See it and drive it.”

After taking a 13-0 loss to the Panthers at home on Monday, it was the Tigers (16-15, 6-7) who came out of the gate playing angry.

Mikaela Vadeboncouer led off the game with a triple and promptly scored on Lexi Crawford’s sacrifice fly an at-bat later, a run that was washed when Aubrie Goudreau tripled and scored on a Mady Dye single in the bottom of the frame.

But the Tigers answered with twin two-run innings, scoring on a wild pitch and Vadeboncouer RBI double in the second and an Emory Fritz sac fly and Manteno error on a Reese Hartman bunt in the third. That kind of start is something the Tigers have enjoyed plenty of lately, as they entered this week’s series with the Panthers as winners of 15 of their last 20.

But they couldn’t find a way to beat a Panthers team that’s won seven of their last eight. Dye roped a two-run double in the bottom of the third, and after a Keira Ahramovich RBI groundout half an inning later, really found their rhythm in the fourth.

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Manteno's Aubrie Goudreau, left, fields a throw at second as Herscher's Reese Hartman slides in with a stolen base during a game at Manteno Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Mason Schweizer)

Delya hit the first of a pair of two-run two-baggers to make it a one-run game, and after Alyssa Singleton’s bunt single put runners on the corners, all-state shortstop Aubrie Goudreau tied it with a two-out single.

Delya hit her go-ahead double the next inning, with the Panthers adding a run on a double steal, trading the third out at second for an Amiya Carlile run that made it 9-6.

The Tigers cut it to two twice – first on an Ahramovich grounder in the sixth, and after a Goudreau sac fly, saw Lily Tucek leg out an infield single that scored Audrey Hoffman and brought Vadebonceour up as the tying run, Delya induced a first-pitch comeback groundout to end it.

Delya battled through a complete game, allowing seven earned runs on 14 hits, two walks and three strikeouts. Dye, a freshman who was the winning pitcher in Monday’s game, was 3 for 4 with three RBIs, and like Delya doubled twice.

Dye said that as a freshman who’s been a starter since Day 1, it’s been her faith and her supportive teammates, namely Delya and Goudreau, who have helped her become a pivotal piece right away.

“I don’t try and stress too much, because I know God has my back,” Dye said. “And my teammates are really supportive of me. ... I think we’ve grown a lot and can do really good in the postseason if we just stay positive and stick together.”

Ahramovich had a 3-for-4 day for the Tigers, who saw Vadebonceour, Crawford, Hartman and Hoffman add two hits apiece. Anna Lesage allowed 10 earned runs on 15 hits and a walk in a complete game.

Despite falling short against the Panthers, Tigers coach Mike Cann has been a big fan of the way Herscher is playing as the postseason looms next week.

“The last month, going from 1-7 to 16-15, we’re playing a nice brand of softball,” Cann said. “We’re hitting the ball, we’re running the bases, making plays on defense, the pitchers are pitching, and we’ve got a couple reliable catchers. We’ve been beating some teams with quality pitching.”