The Clinton Maroons will square off against the El Paso-Gridley Titans at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
Lincoln hit Clinton with a six-run sixth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Maroons fell 13-8 to the Railsplitters.
Jaxon Reynolds made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with four RBI, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Jack Manning, who went 3-for-5 with three runs, one double, and one RBI.
El Paso-Gridley never got on the board in their matchup on Thursday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Henry-Senachwine on Saturday. They blew past the Mallards 10-1. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Titans' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Mason Vandegraft spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on two hits and racked up 16 Ks. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because El Paso-Gridley is 4-2 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 4-16-1 otherwise.
On the hitting side, El Paso-Gridley let Joah Knapp and Dominic Ricconi run wild. Knapp went 2-for-4 with two doubles, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Ricconi went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two doubles. That's the most RBI Ricconi has posted since back in April of 2024. Owen Adams was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Clinton's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-13. As for El Paso-Gridley, their victory bumped their record up to 8-18-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clinton has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like El Paso-Gridley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
