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

Spring Grove has gone 8-2 against Mabel-Canton recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Lions will venture away from home to face off against the Cougars at 3:30 p.m.

Spring Grove is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Southland just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell 9-6 to the Rebels.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Mabel-Canton, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They were the clear victors by an 8-1 margin over Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons on Tuesday. The Cougars have beaten Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons has come to flipping the script.

Darian Hershberger made a big impact 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. Mabel-Canton is 2-1 when Hershberger allows two or fewer hits, but 3-8 otherwise. Hershberger was also solid in the batter's box, 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.

Spring Grove's defeat dropped their record down to 8-4. As for Mabel-Canton, the win was their first at home , bumping their record up to 5-9.

Spring Grove couldn't quite get it done against Mabel-Canton in their previous meeting back in April as they fell 5-2. Can the Lions avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.