The Shepard Astros will take on the Evergreen Park Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Shepard has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Evergreen Park will arrive with three straight victories.
Oak Forest hit Shepard with a four-run second inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Astros came up short against the Bengals, falling 12-2.
Meanwhile, Evergreen Park hadn't done well against Marist recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Mustangs narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the RedHawks 10-9.
Evan Snyder-Murphy looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Robert Welcome was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Noah Munoz, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Evergreen Park kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive contests.
Evergreen Park pushed their record up to 22-9 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Shepard, their loss dropped their record down to 11-14-2.
Shepard couldn't quite finish off Evergreen Park when the teams last played back in May of 2024 and fell 6-4. Will the Astros have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
