Baseball Preview: DuQuoin Indians vs. Sparta Bulldogs
DuQuoin is 10-0 against Sparta since April of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The DuQuoin Indians will head out on the road to square off against the Sparta Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. DuQuoin is coming into the match hot, having won their last 23 games.
If DuQuoin beats Sparta with three runs on Friday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. DuQuoin came out on top against Waltonville by a score of 3-0 on Thursday.
Not much got past Dedrick Melvin, who gave up just zero hits and racked up 16 Ks to keep Waltonville off the board.
At the plate, DuQuoin let Tilden Henderson and Jayden Anders loose on the outfield. Henderson went 2-for-3 with a stolen base, two RBI, and a double, while Anders scored a run and stole four bases while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Sparta had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 2 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Rockets and snuck past 8-7.
Zach Bodeker made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Bodeker was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Skylar Spivey, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was James Pillers, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and a double.
DuQuoin pushed their record up to 24-1 with that win, which was their 16th straight at home. As for Sparta, their victory bumped their record up to 11-8.
DuQuoin took their win against Sparta in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 10-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for DuQuoin since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
