Chester and New Athens are an even 3-3 against one another since April of 2015, but likely not for long. The Yellowjackets will square off against the Yellow Jackets at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Having struggled with three defeats in a row, Chester turned things around against Sparta on Tuesday. They came out on top against the Bulldogs by a score of 10-5.
Brenden Malley was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He pitched 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. Malley was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Ethan Colvis
| 04/22/25 @ Sparta | 2 |
| 04/09/25 vs Dupo | 2 |
| 03/28/25 vs Frankfort | 2 |
| 03/18/25 vs Marissa/Coulterville | 2 |
| 03/25/25 vs Carterville | 1 |
In other batting news, Ethan Colvis was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. He is becoming a predictor of Chester's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 3-1 (and 1-7 when he doesn't). Reagan Sims was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask New Athens). Everything went their way against Dupo on Tuesday as they made off with a 13-1 win. The Yellow Jackets haven't had any issues with the Tigers recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Like Chester, New Athens also got a great game from a two-way player: Carson Lauer. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit (and only one walk). Those nine strikeouts gave Lauer a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and one run.
In other batting news, New Athens got a massive performance out of Brodie Sieber, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one home run and three runs. That's the most runs Sieber has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Wil Mulholland, who went 2-for-4 with two doubles, one stolen base, and one run.
New Athens was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .435. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
New Athens pushed their record up to 8-5 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for Chester, their win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-4 and their overall record up to 4-8.
Chester beat New Athens 7-4 in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Do the Yellowjackets have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Yellow Jackets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
