The Mercer County Golden Eagles will take on the Erie-Prophetstown Panthers at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Mercer County will come into the game with an undefeated record on the line.
Mercer County barely beat Orion the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Golden Eagles never let the Chargers get on the board and left with a 6-0 win on Thursday. The Golden Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six contests by six runs or more this season.
Elsie Cook was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run over seven innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run. That home run was her first of the season.
In other batting news, Maddy Campbell-Baker was excellent, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with two stolen bases and two RBI. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in March of 2024. Kelsie Weeks was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Erie-Prophetstown came up short against Kewanee on Friday and fell 8-3. The defeat continues a trend for the Panthers in their meetings with the Boilermakers: they've now lost three in a row.
Erie-Prophetstown saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jaylynn Hamilton, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Mercer County's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-0. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Erie-Prophetstown, their loss dropped their record down to 5-5.
Erie-Prophetstown's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Mercer County has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .477. It's a different story for Erie-Prophetstown, though, as they've only averaged .351. Will they be able to contain Mercer County's hitters?
Mercer County was able to grind out a solid victory over Erie-Prophetstown in their previous matchup back in March of 2023, winning 10-5. Do the Golden Eagles have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Panthers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
