Baseball Game Preview: Mt. Pulaski Hilltoppers vs. Routt Catholic Rockets

The Mt. Pulaski Hilltoppers will face off against the Routt Catholic Rockets at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Mt. Pulaski's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. Everything went their way against Lanphier as they made off with a 16-0 win. The victory continues a trend for the Hilltoppers in their matchups with the Lions: they've now won six in a row.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Routt Catholic, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They were the clear victors by a 12-4 margin over Triopia/Meredosia-Chambersburg/Virginia on Monday.

Jace Lautemann and Kale Reich made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Lautemann pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Reich tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits. What's more, Lautemann posted two strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. At the plate, Lautemann went 2-for-3 with two triples, two runs, and one RBI, while Reich went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Lautemann has become a key player for Routt Catholic: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 5-6 otherwise.

In other batting news, Dalton Brown and Samuel Long did most of the damage at the plate: Brown went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, while Long went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. That's the most RBI Brown has posted since back in March. Eli Olson was another key player, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.

Routt Catholic's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-6. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Mt. Pulaski, their win bumped their record up to 14-3.