The Raymond Central Mustangs will square off against the Lincoln Christian Crusaders at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Raymond Central has given up an average of 7.5 runs per game this season, but Saturday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Malcolm hit Raymond Central with a five-run seventh inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Mustangs came up short against the Clippers, falling 12-1. The Mustangs have struggled against the Clippers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.
Raymond Central saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lucas Den Hartog, who went 1-for-4 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Lincoln Christian, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Fort Calhoun on Friday, sneaking past 3-2.
Grant DeHaan was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ian Brester, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season.
Lincoln Christian pushed their record up to 10-5 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Raymond Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-12.
Raymond Central might still be hurting after the 14-5 loss they got from Lincoln Christian in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can the Mustangs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
