Softball Recap: Five Straight Home Wins for Crab Orchard

Crab Orchard lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Vienna, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Thursday's match. The Crab Orchard Trojans put the hurt on the Vienna Eagles with a sharp 13-7 victory on Thursday. For the Trojans, this counts as revenge for the 3-1 win the Eagles walked away with the last time they faced one another back in March of 2024.

Drew Besheres was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and five unearned) runs off nine hits (and not a single walk). Besheres was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-5 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Payton Cook, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April of 2024. Addlyn Miller also deserves some recognition as she brought in her first RBI of the season.

Crab Orchard was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .394. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Trojans

Previous 5 Games (Home)

03/20/25 vs Vienna	13-7
03/18/25 vs Elverado	3-0
03/17/25 vs Shawnee	10-0
05/02/24 vs Benton	1-0
04/30/24 vs Carrier Mills-Stonefort	13-2

Crab Orchard's victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Vienna, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-3.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Crab Orchard will square off against DuQuoin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Crab Orchard is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10 runs per game this season. As for Vienna, they will take on Harrisburg at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Vienna has given up an average of 9 runs per game this season, so hopefully the team got some pitching drills in this week.