Baseball Game Preview: Oldenburg Academy Twisters vs. Rushville Lions

Oldenburg Academy and Rushville are an even 4-4 against one another since May of 2016, but likely not for long. The Twisters will be playing in front of their home fans against the Lions at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The home team had come away the winner the last seven times Oldenburg Academy and Union County had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Twisters lost 9-3 to the Patriots on Monday.

Zach Hoff

Stolen Base

05/19/25 vs Union County	2
05/17/25 @ Switzerland County	2
04/17/25 @ Shawe Memorial	2
05/08/25 vs Milan	1
04/28/25 vs North Decatur	1
+ 2 more games

Zach Hoff was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs. Oldenburg Academy is 2-1 when Hoff posts two or more stolen bases, but 6-7 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Juston Dietz, who went 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Rushville hadn't done well against Franklin County recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Lions blew past the Wildcats 8-1. The Lions not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since May 7th (when they won 12-2).

Trent Smith spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Nicholas Bowles, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one stolen base and one run. Casey Thompson was another key player, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.

Rushville's win ended a five-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-15. As for Oldenburg Academy, they dropped their record down to 8-8 with the defeat, which was their third straight at home.