The Murphysboro Red Devils will head out to challenge the Centralia Orphans at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Murphysboro will bounce into Friday's match after beating Carterville, who they had gone 0-8-1 against in their nine prior meetings. The Red Devils came out on top in a nail-biter against the Lions on Tuesday, sneaking past 10-9. That's two games straight that the Red Devils have won by just one run.
Eli Fleming
| 03/25/25 vs Crystal Lake South | 6 |
| 04/08/25 @ Herrin | 2 |
| 04/15/25 @ Carterville | 1 |
Eli Fleming tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up three earned (and five unearned) runs off nine hits. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Murphysboro is 2-1 when he allows at most two walks, but 6-7 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Murphysboro got a massive performance out of Gage Taylor, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. That's the most hits Taylor has posted since back in April of 2024. Reece Mileur also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Murphysboro was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .419. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Centralia won against Cahokia on Tuesday with 13 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Wednesday. The Orphans were the clear victors by a 13-5 margin over Mater Dei. The Orphans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by eight runs or more this season.
Nolan Pryor was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-5.
In other pitching news, Centralia got a great performance from Archie Goewey as he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off three hits. Goewey has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, Aiden Endres was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Gabe Houser, who went 2-for-5 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one double.
The victory was the third in a row for Centralia, bringing their record up to 8-6. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Murphysboro, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-8 record this season.
Murphysboro skirted past Centralia 3-2 in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Red Devils since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
