The Gillespie Miners will take on the Hillsboro Hiltoppers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The timing is sure in Gillespie's favor as the squad sits on seven straight wins at home while Hillsboro has been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road.
On Wednesday, Gillespie made easy work of Greenfield/Northwestern and carried off a 14-2 win. The result was nothing new for the Miners, who have now won 12 matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Paxton Reid made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off seven hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI.
Laci Schuckenbrock
| 04/23/25 @ Greenfield/Northwestern | 4 |
| 04/16/25 @ Dupo | 3 |
| 03/17/25 @ Ramsey | 3 |
| 05/18/24 vs Staunton | 3 |
| 04/17/25 vs O'Fallon | 2 |
In other batting news, Laci Schuckenbrock was a standout: she went 4-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Those four hits gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ava Parish, who went 4-for-6 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Gillespie always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Greenfield/Northwestern only posted an OBP of .300.
Meanwhile, Hillsboro came up short against Greenville on Tuesday, falling 9-2.
Hillsboro saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lainey Lessman, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Gillespie has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 13 of their last 14 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.1 runs over those games. As for Hillsboro, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-9.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Gillespie hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Hillsboro struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Gillespie took their win against Hillsboro when the teams last played back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 9-0 score. Will the Miners repeat their success, or do the Hiltoppers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
