The Mt. Zion Braves will take on the Rochester Rockets at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Mt. Zion 3.4, Rochester 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Tuesday, Mt. Zion was able to grind out a solid win over Tolono Unity, taking the game 9-6. The victory continues a trend for the Braves in their matchups with the Rockets: they've now won three in a row.
Meanwhile, Rochester made easy work of MacArthur on Tuesday and carried off an 18-3 win. The result was nothing new for the Rockets, who have now won ten games by eight runs or more so far this season.
Eli Carlson and Breck Calvert were major factors no matter where they played. Throwing, Carlson pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Calvert pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Carlson has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. At the plate, Carlson went 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI, while Calvert got on base in both of his plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base. That's the most runs Calvert has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, Rochester let Jorey Myren and Ajay Runkel run wild. Myren went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one double, while Runkel went a perfect 1-for-1 with two RBI, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Sean Plessa, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and one run.
Rochester always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .703. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as MacArthur only posted an OBP of .250.
The victory made it two in a row for Rochester and bumps their season record up to 17-7. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 3 runs in those games. As for Mt. Zion, their victory bumped their record up to 15-5.
Mt. Zion couldn't quite finish off Rochester in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 and fell 6-4. Will the Braves have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
