Baseball Recap: Wayne Falls Short Against Ranked Malcolm

Wayne faced Malcolm in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Wayne took a 15-12 hit to the loss column at the hands of Malcolm. The Blue Devils have struggled against the Clippers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost meeting.

Jaxson Kneifl was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. What's more, he posted two hits, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. Brayden Rajaee-Hallgren also deserves some recognition as he launched his first home run of the season.

Even though they lost, Wayne lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.

Wayne now has a losing record of 2-3. As for Malcolm, they pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season.

Coincidentally, Wayne and Malcolm will both be playing Fairbury the next time they take the field. Wayne will head out to face Fairbury at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, while Malcolm will play them later in the day, at 5:30 p.m.