Madison La Follette is 2-8 against Vel Phillips Memorial since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Lancers will host the Spartans at 5:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Madison La Follette took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Janesville Parker 3-2.
Landon Payne spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on seven hits and racked up seven Ks.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Christian Castro, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That home run was his first of the season.
Meanwhile, Vel Phillips Memorial was able to grind out a solid win over Bay Port on Saturday, taking the game 5-2.
Caleb Liggon made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and not a single walk). Liggon was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Oliver Soldat and Simon Sellwood did most of the damage at the plate: Soldat went 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Sellwood went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI. Those two hits gave Sellwood a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Myles Hosking, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Vel Phillips Memorial kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bay Port only managed five hits.
Madison La Follette's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-8. As for Vel Phillips Memorial, their win bumped their record up to 12-2.
Madison La Follette suffered a grim 17-2 defeat to Vel Phillips Memorial in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Can the Lancers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
