Baseball Recap: Richland County Has No Trouble Against Fairfield

Richland County won against Mattoon last Monday with eight runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. The Tigers put the hurt on the Fairfield Mules with a sharp 8-1 win. The Tigers have seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw the Mules, too.

Keagan Puckett spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up six Ks. He is becoming a predictor of Richland County's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is undefeated (and 1-2 when he doesn't).

On the hitting side, Richland County got a big performance out of Carter Blank, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. That stolen base marked the first that Blank snagged this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Gavin Root, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4.

Tigers

Batting Average

04/01/25 @ Fairfield	51.5%
03/31/25 vs Mattoon	35.7%
03/28/25 @ Centralia	19.2%
03/26/25 vs Cumberland	31%
03/24/25 vs St. Anthony	28.6%
+ 7 more games

Richland County was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .515. The last time their batting average was this high was back in April of 2024.

The victory made it two in a row for Richland County and bumps their season record up to 4-2. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 5 runs in those games. As for Fairfield, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season.

Richland County will venture away from home to take on Cisne at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Runnin' Lions' pitching crew has only allowed 3.2 runs per game this season, so the Tigers' hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Fairfield, they will be playing at home against Lawrenceville at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.