Tell City softball tops Northeast Dubois 7-2, extends winning streak

Tell City needed more than another spring win. It needed a result that showed the Marksmen could still handle a familiar opponent that had controlled the matchup for years, and the 7-2 victory over Northeast Dubois delivered exactly that in Perry County.

The win on Thursday, April 16, extended Tell City’s winning streak to two games and pushed the Marksmen to 4-2. It also ended a rough run against the Jeeps, with Tell City having gone 1-7 in its previous eight meetings with Northeast Dubois. The last time the teams met in April 2025, Northeast Dubois edged Tell City 8-7.

Under head coach Maddie Dawson and assistant Chloe Carman, Tell City got the kind of complete effort that can shape a season’s identity. Carli Zuelly pitched all seven innings, allowing two runs, both unearned, on five hits. She kept Northeast Dubois from turning scattered traffic into a big inning, and that steadiness gave Tell City room to build its lead.

The Marksmen offense did its part. Reese Ford went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, one stolen base and a double. Bailey McWhirter was even more productive, finishing 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Kate Noble added the power swing, going 1-for-3 with a home run. For a Tell City lineup that already listed McWhirter as its batting average and on-base percentage leader and Ford as the stolen-base leader, the performance fit the shape of the team’s early season.

The result also mattered because it came in the middle of a quick April stretch. Tell City had beaten Wood Memorial 13-7 the day before, using an eight-run third inning to break that game open, and then turned around to face Northeast Dubois at 6 p.m. Northeast Dubois entered that game at 3-3 after a 13-1 win over Springs Valley on April 14, but the loss dropped the Jeeps to 3-4.

Tell City’s next test came fast, with a 10 a.m. Saturday game at Paoli. The Rams entered that matchup on a four-game losing streak, giving the Marksmen another chance to keep momentum moving before the schedule tightens again.