Baseball Game Preview: Benton Central Bison vs. Crawfordsville Athenians

The Benton Central Bison will venture away from home to challenge the Crawfordsville Athenians at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Crawfordsville took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Benton Central, who comes in off a win.

While Benton Central's victory against South Newton wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Bison sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-6 win over the Rebels on Thursday. The Bison haven't had any issues with the Rebels recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.

Kamron Rider

Base on Balls Against

05/01/25 vs South Newton	2
04/28/25 @ Fountain Central	1
04/26/25 @ Logansport	2
04/24/25 vs North Newton	0
04/16/25 vs Lafayette Central Catholic	2

Benton Central got a great performance from Kamron Rider as he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. Rider has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Benton Central let Grant Weise and Lucas Snyder run wild. Weise went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one run, while Snyder went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs. Those two stolen bases gave Snyder a new career-high. Kaydric Tyson also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, Crawfordsville came up short against Southmont on Wednesday and fell 14-9.

Jacob Lee was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Sam Minnette, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

Crawfordsville's defeat dropped their record down to 5-7-1. As for Benton Central, their win bumped their record up to 5-11.

Everything went Benton Central's way against Crawfordsville in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as Benton Central made off with a 15-7 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bison since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.