Baseball Game Preview: Midd-West Mustangs vs. Mount Carmel RED TORNADOES

The Midd-West Mustangs will challenge the Mount Carmel RED TORNADOES at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with four defeats in a row, Midd-West turned things around against Central Columbia on Wednesday. They came out on top against the Bluejays by a score of 12-9. The Mustangs' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.

Midd-West let Braxton Smith and Kyle Shupp run wild. Smith scored a run while going 3-for-5, while Shupp scored three runs while going 2-for-5. That's the most runs Shupp has posted since back in March of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Colton Aumiller, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-5.

Meanwhile, Mount Carmel entered their tilt with Central Columbia on Friday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Bluejays, sneaking past 4-2. That's two games straight that the RED TORNADOES have won by exactly two runs.

Noah Shimko looked comfortable as he pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has become a key player for Mount Carmel: the team is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-2 otherwise.

At the plate, Jason Klokis was excellent, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Owen Ramirez, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Mount Carmel pushed their record up to 4-2 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.7 runs over those games. As for Midd-West, their victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 2-4.

Midd-West took their win against Mount Carmel in their previous meeting back in April of 2022 by a conclusive 9-3 score. Will the Mustangs repeat their success, or do the RED TORNADOES have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.