Baseball Preview: Mattoon Greenwave vs. Rantoul Eagles
Mattoon has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Rantoul Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Rantoul took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Mattoon, who comes in off a win.
Last Saturday, Mattoon beat Taylorville 7-2.
Madden Johnson was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out 11 batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. Johnson has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances. Johnson was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Johnson wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Joey Stewart, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Slater Trier, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Rantoul was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They lost 8-2 to Illinois Valley Central.
Mattoon has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 13-12 record this season. As for Rantoul, their loss dropped their record down to 8-12.
Mattoon took their victory against Rantoul in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 17-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mattoon since the team 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
