Baseball Game Preview: Maize Eagles vs. Derby Panthers

The Maize Eagles will challenge the Derby Panthers at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Maize comes in on 12 and Derby on seven.

Maize is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Kansas' top teams: Shawnee Mission South, who was ranked 20th at the time (Maize was ranked seventh). The Eagles put the hurt on the Raiders with a sharp 13-2 win on Friday. Considering the Eagles have won six matchups by more than six runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Quincy Koehn spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on four hits and racked up six Ks.

On the hitting side, Drake Blasi was incredible, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with five RBI, two runs, and one triple. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Gavin Short, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.

Meanwhile, Derby narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Haysville Campus 3-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Panthers have posted against the Colts since April 18, 2023.

Maize's victory bumped their record up to 15-2. As for Derby, their win bumped their record up to 15-3.

Maize came out on top in a nail-biter against Derby in their previous meeting back in April of 2025, sneaking past 4-3. Will the Eagles repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.