Baseball Game Preview: Wayne City Indians vs. Zeigler-Royalton Tornadoes

The Wayne City Indians are taking a road trip to take on the Zeigler-Royalton Tornadoes at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Wayne City is coming into the match hot, having won their last three games.

Wayne City is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Odin/Patoka/Sandoval on Tuesday as they made off with a 15-1 victory. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Indians with their most commanding win of the season.

Meanwhile, Zeigler-Royalton hadn't done well against Goreville recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Tornadoes came out on top against the Blackcats by a score of 7-3. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Tornadoes.

Connor DeWeerdt made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Chase Cole, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and one double. Another player making a difference was Bradden Mays, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Zeigler-Royalton's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 19-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for Wayne City, they picked up their first road win, bumping their record up to 5-8.

Wayne City suffered a grim 12-2 defeat to Zeigler-Royalton when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Indians avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.