Baseball Game Preview: Clinton Prairie Gophers vs. Taylor Titans

The Clinton Prairie Gophers will face off against the Taylor Titans at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Clinton Prairie has three straight wins, Taylor has ten straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Clinton Prairie will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Carroll, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Gophers walked away with a 9-6 victory over the Cougars on Wednesday. While the Gophers didn't have the best season last year (they finished 11-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

Kye Jacobs made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off one hit. Jacobs was also stellar in the batter's box, firing off two home runs, two stolen bases, and three runs while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of Clinton Prairie's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 2-3 when he doesn't).

Ben Schlicher

Stolen Base (Career)

04/30/25 @ Carroll	2
04/18/25 @ Tri-County	1
04/17/25 vs Danville	1
05/20/24 vs Seeger	1
05/04/24 vs North Montgomery	1

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ben Schlicher, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jackson Price, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.

Clinton Prairie lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.

Taylor couldn't beat Carroll on Tuesday even though they stacked seven runs on them in the fourth inning. The Titans came up short against the Cougars, falling 17-7.

Clinton Prairie's win bumped their record up to 7-3. As for Taylor, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-9.

Clinton Prairie beat Taylor 5-1 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Do the Gophers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Titans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.