Baseball Game Preview: St. Charles Fighting Saints vs. Pine Island Panthers

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Previous 6 Games

05/22/24 - Away	4-8 L
04/10/21 - Away	4-14 L
04/05/19 - Home	8-6 W
04/29/17 - Away	0-13 L
05/20/16 - Home	12-10 W
05/06/15 - Away	12-6 W

St. Charles and Pine Island are an even 3-3 against one another since May of 2015, but likely not for long. The Fighting Saints will face off against the Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

St. Charles had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the six-run drubbing they dealt La Crescent on Saturday. The Fighting Saints never let the Lancers get on the board and left with a 6-0 victory. The win was familiar territory for the Fighting Saints, who have now won three contests in a row.

Meanwhile, two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Pine Island walked away with it. They beat the Eagles on Saturday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 11-1. The victory continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won three in a row.

Luke Sems made a splash no matter where he played. He struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.

In other batting news, Jaxon Hartzell was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high. Alex Knox was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run.

St. Charles' record now sits at 17-6. As for Pine Island, their record is now 17-5.

St. Charles couldn't quite get it done against Pine Island when the teams last played back in May of 2024 as they fell 8-4. Can the Fighting Saints avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.