Baseball Game Preview: Howell Vikings vs. Troy-Buchanan Trojans

Howell has won nine straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Troy-Buchanan has won nine straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Monday. Howell will welcome Troy-Buchanan at 4:00 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Monday.

Howell is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Edwardsville, who was ranked fourth in their home state at the time (Howell was ranked second). Howell was the clear victor by a 7-1 margin over Edwardsville on Friday. That six run margin sets a new team best for the Vikings this season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Troy-Buchanan). Everything went their way against Washington on Saturday as Troy-Buchanan made off with a 16-3 victory. The Trojans have beaten the Bluejays the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Bluejays has come to flipping the script.

Jacob Frazier was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up just one earned run but no hits. Frazier was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.

In other batting news, Christian Knaust was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Kadin Justus was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2.

Troy-Buchanan was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .474. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Washington only posted a batting average of .143.

Howell's win bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Troy-Buchanan, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.

Howell skirted past Troy-Buchanan 1-0 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Will Howell repeat their success, or does Troy-Buchanan has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.