Baseball Recap: Canton Comes Up Short

Canton had lost seven straight on the road, but on Monday they dropped down to 5-16-1 to make it eight. They fell just short of the Pekin Dragons by a score of 10-9. The Little Giants were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Dragons apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in May of 2025.

Easton Orwig

Home Runs

04/14/26 vs Cuba/Spoon River Valley	2
05/04/26 @ Pekin	1
04/02/26 vs Van Buren	1

Easton Orwig was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over four innings pitched. Furthermore, he didn't allow a single earned run, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in May of 2025. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. He has become a key player for Canton: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least one home run, but 3-15-1 otherwise.

In other batting news, Kash VanHouten made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Canton is 4-2 when VanHouten posts two or more runs, but 1-14-1 otherwise. Asher Blessman was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run.

As for Pekin, with the win, they broke their 14-game losing streak and moved their record to 4-16. Considering their hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.

On Pekin's side, they got a big performance out of Brock Stout, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run. Those four RBI gave Stout a new career-high. Player #22 also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen bases of the season.

While Canton had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday.