The McBain Ramblers will head out on the road to square off against the St. Francis Gladiators at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (McBain 1.2, St. Francis 2.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
St. Francis will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: McBain extended their winning streak to four on Tuesday. The Ramblers walked away with a 7-2 win over Manton.
The team relied heavily on Clayton Heuker, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Kasen Pollington was another key player, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Meanwhile, St. Francis entered their tilt with St. Mary on Tuesday with four consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with five. They put the hurt on the Eagles with a sharp 12-4 victory. Considering the Gladiators have won six matches by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Braxton Lesinski was a major factor no matter where he played. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in May of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs.
Lesinski wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Matthew Kane, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one run. Kane 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.
St. Francis' win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-2. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for McBain, their record now sits at 4-0-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. McBain has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like St. Francis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
McBain suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to St. Francis in their previous matchup back in April of 2018. Can the Ramblers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
