Baseball Recap: Benton Comes Up Short

Benton extended their losing streak to nine on Thursday, dropping their season record down to 4-13 in the process. They came up short against the DuQuoin Indians, falling 17-1. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Indians this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 17-3 last Monday.

Drake Porter made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-2 with one home run.

As for DuQuoin, their win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 10-10. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for they considering their one-run performance the game before.

On DuQuoin's side, Max Zimmerman made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). Those seven strikeouts gave Zimmerman a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI and one run.

In other batting news, DuQuoin got a massive performance out of Tilden Henderson, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. The Indians are 2-1 when Henderson posts two or more runs, but 8-9 otherwise. Jaden DeMarie was another key player, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with four runs and two stolen bases.

Benton has already played their next match, an 11-2 loss against Goreville on the 18th. As for DuQuoin, they also didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next contest, a 3-2 victory against Pinckneyville on the 21st.