vs
| 05/13/24 - Home | 15-1 W |
| 03/30/24 - Home | 9-2 W |
| 04/06/23 - Home | 16-3 W |
| 05/06/17 - Neutral | 7-1 W |
Herscher has gone a perfect 4-0 against Momence recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Tigers will head out to challenge the Momence Athletics at 4:30 p.m. Herscher will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each game than the last.
Herscher is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Grant Park with a sharp 21-0 victory on Wednesday. The win continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Dragons: they've now won eight in a row.
Brycen Steffen was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Steffen was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Alec Nicholos, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, four RBI, and one triple. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Mason Roberts, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple.
Herscher was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .560. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Momence suffered their closest loss since April 9, 2024 on Monday. They fell just short of Gardner-South Wilmington by a score of 9-7. The Momence Athletics have struggled against the Panthers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.
Momence also got a good showing from Daulton Mitchell, who pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, Shane Cook made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI. Brogan Halpin was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Herscher pushed their record up to 17-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Momence, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Herscher has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Momence struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Herscher's way against Momence in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as Herscher made off with a 15-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
