The Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons will head out on the road to challenge the McLean County Cougars at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Madisonville-North Hopkins is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.3 runs per game this season.
Having struggled with three defeats in a row, Madisonville-North Hopkins finally turned things around against Union County on Thursday. Madisonville-North Hopkins skirted past Union County 6-4.
The team relied heavily on Ryder Sandidge, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, in what's become a running theme this season, McLean County gave their fans yet another huge victory on Friday. They beat Union County by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 17-7. The win was nothing new for McLean County as they're now sitting on four straight.
Connor Mitchuson was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Mitchuson has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in five consecutive pitching appearances. Mitchuson was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Jaelin Groves was a standout: he scored three runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Layden Bozarth, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Madisonville-North Hopkins' victory ended a five-game drought at home and bumped them up to 13-16. As for McLean County, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-11.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Madisonville-North Hopkins has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like McLean County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.8. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Madisonville-North Hopkins came up short against McLean County in their previous matchup back in April of 2022, falling 8-5. Can Madisonville-North Hopkins avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
