Baseball Game Preview: Farmington Farmers vs. Astoria/VIT Rebels

For the first time this season, Farmington will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will venture away from home to square off against the Astoria/VIT Rebels at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Farmington is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.

On Thursday, Farmington needed a bit of extra time to put away Illini Bluffs. They put the hurt on the Tigers with a sharp 7-1 victory. The win continues a trend for the Farmers in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won three in a row.

Lane Wheelwright

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/10/25 @ Illini Bluffs	4
04/15/24 @ Peoria Heights	3
04/02/25 @ Mercer County	2
04/12/24 vs Midwest Central	2
03/29/25 @ Peoria Christian	1

Lane Wheelwright made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Wheelwright was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, one run, and one double. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Landon Crawford was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one double. That triple marked the first that he hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Evans, who went 1-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Astoria/VIT was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their 23rd straight loss dating back to last season. They fell 6-2 to West Central co-op [Winchester-Bluffs].

Astoria/VIT saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jonah Shaw, who went 2-for-4 with one RBI.

Astoria/VIT's defeat dropped their record down to 0-8. As for Farmington, their record is now 9-3.

Farmington took their victory against Astoria/VIT in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 13-3 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Farmers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.