Baseball Game Preview: Mabel-Canton Cougars vs. Spring Grove Lions

Mabel-Canton hasn't had much luck against Spring Grove recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Cougars will welcome the Lions at 3:30 p.m. Spring Grove took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Mabel-Canton, who comes in off a win.

Mabel-Canton barely beat Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Cougars were the clear victors by an 8-1 margin over Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons on Tuesday. The Cougars haven't had any issues with Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Darian Hershberger made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. He has become a key player for Mabel-Canton: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most two hits, but 3-8 otherwise. Hershberger was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024.

In other batting news, Kale Eiken was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one stolen base. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Kale Tollefsrud was another key player, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.

Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Spring Grove's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They fell 9-6 to Southland.

Spring Grove's defeat dropped their record down to 8-4. As for Mabel-Canton, they picked up their first home victory, bumping their record up to 5-9.

Mabel-Canton was able to grind out a solid win over Spring Grove in their previous matchup back in April, winning 5-2. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Lions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.