Baseball Game Preview: Maconaquah Braves vs. Eastbrook Panthers

The Maconaquah Braves will look to take advantage of their home field for the first time this season as they take on the Eastbrook Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.

Maconaquah is coming home in high spirits after they had to open their season on the road against Elwood. The Braves blew past the Panthers 9-1 on Friday. The Braves not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since May 4, 2024.

The team relied heavily on Jayden Mercer, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (two). Another player making a difference was Devon Murry, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5.

Maconaquah always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .524. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Elwood only posted an OBP of .207.

Meanwhile, while Eastbrook put up some runs on Saturday, the same can't be said for Southwood. The Panthers were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over the Knights. The high-scoring effort was just what the Panthers needed considering they were shut out in their previous contest.

Will Hodson was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and one double. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Malakai Luthy was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.

Maconaquah couldn't quite get it done against Eastbrook in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 as they fell 10-7. Can the Braves avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.