Baseball Game Preview: Mt. Zion Braves vs. Mattoon Greenwave

The Mt. Zion Braves are taking a road trip to face off against the Mattoon Greenwave at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Mt. Zion's pitching crew has only allowed 3.3 runs per game this season, so Mattoon's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Mt. Zion fell victim to Teutopolis and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They took a 5-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wooden Shoes. The Braves have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Mattoon ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They had just enough and edged out Champaign Central 3-2.

Fletcher Gregory tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Isaiah Warrington, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one double. Those four hits gave him a new career-high.

Mattoon's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 11-7. As for Mt. Zion, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-4.

Mt. Zion couldn't quite finish off Mattoon when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 10-8. Can the Braves avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.