Baseball Recap: Sparta Comes Up Short

Sparta dropped down to 16-8 on Tuesday, ending the team's three-game streak of wins. They came up short against the DuQuoin Indians, falling 15-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Bulldogs have suffered since April 22nd.

As for DuQuoin, the victory (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 22-5. Considering they have won nine matchups by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

For DuQuoin's part, not much got past Max Zimmerman, who gave up just a hit to keep Sparta off the board. Zimmerman has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, DuQuoin let Brayden Learned and Jeremiah Jones run wild. Learned went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs, while Jones went a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Those three RBI gave Learned a new career-high. Noah Koehn was another key player, going a perfect 1-for-1 with two RBI and one run.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Sparta will welcome Frankfort at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. As for DuQuoin, they will be playing at home against Goreville at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Indians 3.3, the Blackcats 3.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.