The Murphysboro Red Devils will head out on the road to square off against the Mt. Vernon Rams at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
Murphysboro fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Benton on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Rangers by a score of 7-6. The Red Devils haven't had much luck with the Rangers recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Kanton Richards made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 4-for-5 with four stolen bases, three RBI, and one run.
Meanwhile, Mt. Vernon waltzed into their matchup on Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They blew past the Greenwave 10-2. The result was nothing new for the Rams, who have now won seven games by eight runs or more so far this season.
Ty Pierce was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with four runs, two stolen bases, and one triple. He has become a key player for Mt. Vernon: the team is 7-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 7-8 otherwise.
In other batting news, Nolan Mast was incredible, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one double. Another player making a difference was Ryker Perigo, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and three runs.
Mt. Vernon was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .394. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .308 or higher in 11 consecutive contests.
Murphysboro's loss dropped their record down to 4-17. As for Mt. Vernon, their record now sits at 14-9.
Murphysboro came out on top in a nail-biter against Mt. Vernon in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, sneaking past 6-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Red Devils since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
