Baseball Game Preview: Deer Creek-Mackinaw Chiefs vs. Fieldcrest Knights

The Deer Creek-Mackinaw Chiefs will square off against the Fieldcrest Knights at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Deer Creek-Mackinaw will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Friday, then bounced right back against Clinton on Saturday. The Chiefs were the clear victors by a 16-4 margin over the Maroons. That looming 16-4 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Chiefs yet this season.

Chase Noe looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high.

Drew Swadinsky

Hits (Career)

04/12/25 @ Clinton	4
04/12/24 @ Fieldcrest	3
04/10/25 vs El Paso-Gridley	2
05/10/24 vs LeRoy	2
04/20/24 vs Peoria Notre Dame	2

On the hitting side, Drew Swadinsky was incredible, going 4-for-5 with one home run, four runs, and five RBI. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Vinnie Peek, who went 3-for-5 with four RBI.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Fieldcrest). They blew past El Paso-Gridley 14-2 on Friday. Winning may never get old, but the Knights sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.

Deer Creek-Mackinaw is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.8 runs over those games. As for Fieldcrest, their victory bumped their record up to 6-3.

Deer Creek-Mackinaw couldn't quite finish off Fieldcrest when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 12-10. Will the Chiefs have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.