Baseball Game Preview: South Eugene Axe vs. South Medford Panthers

South Eugene is 1-9 against South Medford since May of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Axe are taking a road trip to square off against the Panthers at 1:00 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

South Eugene is headed into Saturday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fifth straight game on Tuesday. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost an 8-7 heartbreaker at the hands of Willamette.

Michael Grilli was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. That home run was his first of the season. Brendan Van Ryzin was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.

The home team had won the previous four meetings between South Medford and Sheldon, and Sheldon kept the tradition alive. The Panthers fell just short of the Irish by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday. The Panthers haven't had much luck with the Irish recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.

South Medford now has a losing record of 5-6. As for South Eugene, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-7.

South Eugene couldn't quite get it done against South Medford when the teams last played back in May of 2024 as they fell 3-0. Can the Axe avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.