The Apollo Eagles will head out to take on the Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Apollo let Evansville Mater Dei stack five runs on them in the fourth inning on Wednesday but luckily Apollo prevailed anyway. The Eagles came out on top against the Wildcats by a score of 7-6 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game). Surprisingly, this marked the Eagles' fourth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
The team relied heavily on Arianna Ramirez, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyler Hall, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Apollo kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 4.5 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 9.6.
Meanwhile, Madisonville-North Hopkins had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Tigers. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Maroons have posted since April 3rd.
Mackenzie Stoltz spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up 11 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Madisonville-North Hopkins' victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Maggie Killough, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one RBI.
Madisonville-North Hopkins' win was their eighth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-6. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Apollo, their win ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 7-11.
Apollo beat Madisonville-North Hopkins 4-0 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Eagles since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
