The Hoopeston Cornjerkers will venture away from home to square off against the Lexington Minutemen at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Hoopeston took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Beecher a 7-0 shutout.
Beecher's batters probably weren't too happy with Zach Huchel, who pitched a no hitter and racked up nine Ks (he gave up three walks). Huchel also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Hoopeston is 4-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 4-14 otherwise.
Cole Miller
| 05/08/25 vs Beecher | 2 |
| 04/28/25 vs Watseka | 1 |
| 03/18/25 vs St. Thomas More | 1 |
| 03/17/25 @ St. Anne | 1 |
| 03/21/24 @ Rantoul | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Cole Miller, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Ayden Larkin also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen bases of the season.
Meanwhile, Lexington's hitters rose to the challenge against a Cardinals pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.85 runs allowed on Friday. The Minutemen put the hurt on Warrensburg-Latham with a sharp 10-0 victory. The Minutemen might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matchups by seven runs or more this season.
Not much got past Braeden Barber, who gave up just two hits and racked up eight Ks to keep Warrensburg-Latham off the board. Barber has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Miles Lainhart was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Drake Powell, who went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Lexington was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. They are 8-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Hoopeston is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-16 record this season. The team dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 7.7 runs. As for Lexington, their record now sits at 12-10.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hoopeston has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lexington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hoopeston was able to grind out a solid win over Lexington in their previous matchup back in May of 2023, winning 7-4. Do the Cornjerkers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Minutemen turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
