Baseball Recap: Paxton-Buckley-Loda Has No Trouble Against Prairie Central

Panthers

Margin (Wins)

04/28/25 vs Prairie Central	10
03/28/25 vs Ridgeview	10
03/21/25 vs Iroquois West	10
04/03/25 @ Bloomington Central Catholic	8
04/10/25 @ Hoopeston	7

Paxton-Buckley-Loda barely beat Prairie Central the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Panthers were the clear victors by a 13-3 margin over the Hawks on Monday. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight contests by six runs or more this season.

Tyler Cole made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with four runs and one stolen base. He has become a key player for Paxton-Buckley-Loda: the team is 7-2 when he posts at least two runs, but 4-5 otherwise.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Bryar Cosgrove, who went 4-for-5 with three runs and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Dylan Vance, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .513. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Prairie Central only posted an OBP of .308.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda's win bumped their record up to 11-7. As for Prairie Central, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 5-15.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Paxton-Buckley-Loda will take on Armstrong at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Trojans' pitching crew has only allowed 2.7 runs per game this season, so the Panthers' hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Prairie Central, they will square off against Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Blue Devils will roll in looking for their fourth straight victory, something the Hawks surely won't give up without a fight.