The DuQuoin Indians will take on the Murphysboro Red Devils at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (DuQuoin has three straight wins, Murphysboro has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
DuQuoin is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Carmi-White County 16-1 on Saturday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
The team relied heavily on Cy Craft, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three runs, and one double. Another player making a difference was Jeremiah Jones, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
DuQuoin always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .697. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Murphysboro might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 11-1 to Carterville, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.
Murphysboro saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jackson Graff, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one double.
DuQuoin's win bumped their record up to 20-5. As for Murphysboro, their loss dropped their record down to 4-19.
Murphysboro's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: DuQuoin has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.9 hits per game. It's a different story for Murphysboro, though, as they've been averaging 9 hits. Given DuQuoin's sizable advantage in that area, the Red Devils will need to find a way to close that gap.
DuQuoin came up short against Murphysboro in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, falling 9-4. Can the Indians avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
