Baseball Game Preview: Palestine Wildcats vs. Rusk Eagles

For the first time this season, Palestine will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will venture away from home to take on the Rusk Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Palestine's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Rusk's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

It was a proper cat-fight when Palestine took on Malakoff on Friday. Palestine won by a run and slipped past Malakoff 10-9. Ten seems to be a good number for the Wildcats as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Meanwhile, Rusk hadn't done well against Canton recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. Rusk came out on top against Canton by a score of 6-2.

Trendon Bonin made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.

In other batting news, Jermicheal Sturns and Kade Blankenship did most of the damage at the plate: Sturns scored two runs while going 2-for-5, while Blankenship scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Sturns also put up a double, which was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Carter Holland, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.

Rusk always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. The last time their OBP was this high was back in February.

The win made it two in a row for Palestine and bumps their season record up to 13-4-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Rusk, their record now sits at 9-7.

Palestine skirted past Rusk 2-1 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Palestine since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.