Baseball Recap: Mt. Vernon Takes a Loss

Mt. Vernon and Centralia squared off in some playoff action on Wednesday, but Mt. Vernon had to settle for second. They fell just short of the Orphans by a score of 6-4. Unfortunately, that's the third time they've come up short against the Orphans this season, with their most recent defeat being a 9-7 loss on May 7th.

Cale Maurer

Batters Struck Out

05/28/25 @ Centralia	7
05/21/25 @ Salem	9
05/14/25 @ Zeigler-Royalton	5
05/06/25 vs Centralia	14
05/02/25 vs Mattoon	5
+ 3 more games

Cale Maurer was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in eight consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. That home run was his first of the season.

In other batting news, Alex Kiefer was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two runs. Mt. Vernon is 2-1 when Kiefer posts one or more home runs, but 11-19 otherwise. Nolan Mast was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run.

Mt. Vernon has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 13-20 record this season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Centralia, their victory bumped their record up to 17-13.

As of now, neither Mt. Vernon nor the Orphans have any future games scheduled.