Baseball Game Preview: Mt. Pleasant Cardinals vs. Independence 76ers

The Mt. Pleasant Cardinals will take on the Independence 76ers at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The timing is sure in Mt. Pleasant's favor as the squad sits on eight straight wins at home while Independence has been banged up by 11 consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.

Mt. Pleasant fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Gunderson on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Grizzlies by a score of 9-8. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Michael Blanco was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He struck out nine batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off eight hits (and not a single walk). He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs and one double.

In other batting news, Nate Ortiz was cooking despite his team's loss, going 3-for-5 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Julian Saldana, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one run and one double.

Meanwhile, Independence lost 18-2 to Silver Creek on Thursday.

Mt. Pleasant's defeat dropped their record down to 13-6. As for Independence, their loss dropped their record down to 2-19.

Mt. Pleasant took their victory against Independence in their previous meeting back in April by a conclusive 12-2 score. Will the Cardinals repeat their success, or do the 76ers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.