Baseball Game Preview: Leyden Eagles vs. Addison Trail Blazers

The Leyden Eagles are taking a road trip to challenge the Addison Trail Blazers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Leyden has three straight victories, Addison Trail has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Leyden proved they can win big on Thursday (they won by six) and on Saturday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-3 win over Oak Park-River Forest. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Eagles have posted since April 23rd.

Hassan Khrawish was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Maddox Jasinski, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one double.

Leyden hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They are 3-1 when they post two or more strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Addison Trail came up short against Downers Grove North on Saturday, falling 12-1.

Addison Trail saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Eric DeBeau, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one double.

The win got Leyden back to even at 12-12. As for Addison Trail, their loss dropped their record down to 8-19.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Leyden has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Addison Trail struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Leyden suffered a grim 7-0 defeat to Addison Trail in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Can the Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.