Baseball Game Preview: Newton Eagles vs. Effingham Hearts

The Newton Eagles will venture away from home to challenge the Effingham Hearts at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Newton is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8 runs per game this season.

Newton barely beat Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Newton blew past Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 14-6 on Friday. The Eagles haven't had any issues with the Bobcats recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.

Newton let Gavin Meinhart and Drake Wolf run wild. Meinhart scored three runs while going 3-for-4, while Wolf scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. That's the most hits Wolf has posted since back in March of 2024. Kohlten Barthelme also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Newton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City only posted an OBP of .375.

Meanwhile, Effingham earned an 8-3 win over Marion on Friday.

The victory got Effingham back to even at 1-1. As for Newton, the win got them back to even at 2-2.

Newton suffered a grim 9-3 defeat to Effingham when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can Newton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.