The Centralia Orphans will challenge the Murphysboro Red Devils at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
Centralia made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Mater Dei, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Orphans put the hurt on the Knights with a sharp 13-5 victory on Wednesday. The result was nothing new for the Orphans, who have now won five matchups by eight runs or more so far this season.
Nolan Pryor
Nolan Pryor was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Centralia is undefeated when he allows at most one walk, but 5-6 otherwise. Pryor was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-5.
In other pitching news, Archie Goewey tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off three hits. He is becoming a predictor of Centralia's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 4-1 (and 4-5 when he doesn't).
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Aiden Endres, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Centralia is undefeated when Endres posts two or more runs, but 4-6 otherwise. Gabe Houser was another key player, going 2-for-5 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one double.
Centralia was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .421. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Murphysboro hadn't done well against Carterville recently (they were 0-8-1 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The Red Devils sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 10-9 win over the Lions. That's two games straight that the Red Devils have won by just one run.
Murphysboro also got a great performance from Eli Fleming as he tossed five innings while giving up three earned (and five unearned) runs off nine hits.
On the hitting side, Gage Taylor was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Mason Bastien, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Centralia's victory bumped their record up to 8-6. As for Murphysboro, the win got them back to even at 8-8.
