The Caston Comets will take on the South Newton Rebels at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Caston is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They never let West Central get on the board and left with a 10-0 victory. The Comets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matches by ten runs or more this season.
The team relied heavily on Gavin Mollenkopf, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Eli Holloway was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask South Newton). They were the clear victors by a 15-3 margin over North White on Thursday. The Rebels not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since May 11, 2024 (when they won 14-2).
Thomas Applegate made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits (and not a single walk). Applegate was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played.
In other batting news, Cayden Martin was incredible, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Robert Buckley, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
South Newton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .515. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
The win was the third in a row for Caston, bringing their record up to 19-7. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for South Newton, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-22.
Caston took their victory against South Newton in their previous matchup back in May of 2019 by a conclusive 10-3 score. Will the Comets repeat their success, or do the Rebels have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
