Baseball Game Preview: Hillsboro Hiltoppers vs. Vandalia Vandals

Hiltoppers

Runs

03/24/25 vs Bunker Hill	15
03/22/25 vs Marquette Catholic	3
03/21/25 vs Brownstown/St. Elmo	5
03/20/25 @ East Alton-Wood River	12
03/17/25 @ Rochester	2

The Hillsboro Hiltoppers will head out on the road to square off against the Vandalia Vandals at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hillsboro is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.

Hillsboro barely beat Bunker Hill the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Hillsboro's pitcher stepped up to hand Bunker Hill a 15-0 shutout on Monday. The win continues a trend for the Hiltoppers in their matchups with the Minutemen: they've now won five in a row.

Eli Zaidi made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over four innings pitched. What's more, he gave up only zero earned runs, the fewest he's had since back in March of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 3-for-3. He also put up an RBI, which was his first of the season.

In other batting news, Hillsboro let Nathan Matoush and Ryder Dettman run wild. Matoush scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Dettman scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Those two runs gave Dettman a new career-high. Sawyer Hindle also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Hillsboro hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bunker Hill struck out six times.

Meanwhile, it was close, but on Tuesday Vandalia sidestepped Cumberland for a 4-2 victory.

The team relied heavily on Jack Lewis, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases.

Hillsboro's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-4. As for Vandalia, the victory got them back to even at 1-1.

Hillsboro couldn't quite get it done against Vandalia in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 as they fell 7-3. Can Hillsboro avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.