The Clinton Maroons will head out on the road to square off against the Warrensburg-Latham Cardinals at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Wednesday, Clinton was able to grind out a solid win over Tuscola, taking the game 5-1. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Maroons.
Jack Manning spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up six Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
Colton Walker
| 04/28/25 @ Meridian | 3 |
| 04/30/25 vs Tuscola | 2 |
| 04/23/25 @ Bloomington Central Catholic | 2 |
| 04/08/25 vs Meridian | 2 |
| 04/01/25 vs Sullivan | 2 |
| + 8 more games |
At the plate, Colton Walker was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Clinton's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 5-10 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Josh Bass, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Warrensburg-Latham). Their pitchers stepped up to hand Meridian a 20-0 shutout on Wednesday. The Cardinals might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 contests by six runs or more this season.
Brody Brown was a standout: he went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Trenton Bridges also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Warrensburg-Latham always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .657. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Warrensburg-Latham pushed their record up to 19-2 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Clinton, the victory got them back to even at 10-10.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clinton has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Warrensburg-Latham struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Clinton suffered a grim 13-1 defeat to Warrensburg-Latham in their previous matchup back in April. Can the Maroons avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
