The Beardstown Tigers will head out on the road to face off against the Bushnell-Prairie City Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Beardstown is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.5 runs per game this season.
The home team had won the previous four meetings between Beardstown and New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly, and Beardstown kept the tradition alive. The Tigers put the hurt on the Vipers with a sharp 12-1 win on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Tigers have posted against the Vipers since May 6, 2015.
Khloe Kearns
| 05/07/25 vs New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly | 9 |
| 04/28/25 vs Camp Point Central | 17 |
| 04/24/25 vs West Prairie | 11 |
| 04/23/25 @ Pittsfield | 15 |
| 04/21/25 vs Liberty | 5 |
| + 6 more games |
Khloe Kearns was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with three RBI. Those three RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Beardstown got a massive performance out of Kylynn Maltby, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. Maltby has been hot recently, having posted three or more RBI the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Bella Palmer, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Bushnell-Prairie City was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their 39th straight defeat dating back to last season. They fell 10-7 to West Prairie.
Kyra Shamblin was cooking despite her team's loss, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one run and one double.
Beardstown's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-8. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Bushnell-Prairie City, their loss dropped their record down to 0-22.
Bushnell-Prairie City's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Beardstown has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Bushnell-Prairie City, though, as they've been averaging only 3.3 strikeouts. Will Beardstown keep running through batters, or will the Spartans buck the trend?
Beardstown took their win against Bushnell-Prairie City in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 11-2 score. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
