The Princeton Tigers are taking a road trip to face off against the Evansville Reitz Panthers at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Princeton 2.9, Evansville Reitz 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Princeton took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They walked away with a 9-4 win over Mt. Carmel.
Ryne Wilhite
| 04/18/25 vs Mt. Carmel | 7 |
| 04/09/25 @ Evansville Harrison | 4 |
| 04/02/25 vs Jasper | 4 |
| 05/27/24 vs Boonville | 0 |
| 05/21/24 @ Castle | 2 |
| + 2 more games |
Ryne Wilhite was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over 5.1 innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in May of 2024. He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. He has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last eight times he's played.
In other batting news, Jarrett Kinder was incredible, going 2-for-3 with three runs, one double, and one RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Mater Cowan also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Princeton hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least four batters in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Evansville Reitz didn't have quite enough to beat Castle on Friday and fell 5-4. The Panthers have struggled against the Knights recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive lost meeting.
Cayden McGrew was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off six hits.
On the hitting side, Oliver Gates was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Landon McCutchan was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
Princeton is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Evansville Reitz, they now have a losing record of 2-3.
Evansville Reitz's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Princeton has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .439. It's a different story for Evansville Reitz, though, as they've only averaged .306. Will they be able to contain Princeton's hitters?
Everything went Princeton's way against Evansville Reitz when the teams last played back in March of 2024, as Princeton made off with a 14-5 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
