Baseball Game Preview: Pittsfield Saukees vs. Illini West Chargers

The Pittsfield Saukees will face off against the Illini West Chargers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Pittsfield 3.9, Illini West 3.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Pittsfield's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Wednesday's struggle, when New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly hitters got past them. The Saukees took a 10-5 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Vipers on Wednesday.

Luke Saxe was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI. Another player making a difference was Kaden Ferguson, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and one run.

Meanwhile, Illini West beat Havana 5-1 on Friday. The Chargers haven't had any issues with the Ducks recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.

Tre Neiderman tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit over five innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Stephen Sparks was excellent, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted over his last 11 matches.

Illini West's victory bumped their record up to 18-8. As for Pittsfield, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-7.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Pittsfield has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Illini West struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.