Baseball Game Preview: Mattoon Greenwave vs. Newton Eagles

The Mattoon Greenwave will head out on the road to challenge the Newton Eagles at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.

Mattoon's last matchup with St. Joseph-Ogden could've gone either way, but unfortunately the same can't be said for the pair's contest on Thursday. The Greenwave came up short against the Spartans, falling 11-2. The Greenwave have struggled against the Spartans recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.

Mattoon saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Madden Johnson, who went 2-for-3 with one run.

Meanwhile, Newton didn't have quite enough to beat Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg on Thursday and fell 7-6. The Eagles have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Quincy Fulton was cooking despite his team's loss, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs. Newton is 4-1 when Fulton posts two or more runs, but 11-12 otherwise. Reed Tharp also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

Mattoon's record is now 16-13. As for Newton, their record now sits at 15-13.

Mattoon couldn't quite get it done against Newton in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 as they fell 4-1. Can the Greenwave avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.