Waterloo is a perfect 5-0 against McKinley since May of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Vikings will welcome the Trojans at 5:00 p.m. Waterloo is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.5 runs per game this season.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Tuesday as neither Waterloo nor Springfield made it on the board until the fifth inning. The Vikings had just enough and edged out the Tigers 4-3. The game snapped a strange streak: the last four times these teams have met, it?s been the away team that?s taken home the W.
Jolean Hampton
| 04/28/26 vs Springfield | 8 |
| 04/27/26 @ Springfield | 12 |
| 04/23/26 @ Jackson-Milton | 5 |
| 04/21/26 @ McDonald | 7 |
| 04/20/26 vs McDonald | 7 |
| 04/15/26 vs Memorial | 12 |
Jolean Hampton spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on six hits and racked up eight Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Kristlyn Kehrer was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Brilyn Eddy, who went 1-for-4 with two runs and one double.
Meanwhile, McKinley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their tenth straight defeat. They came up short against Western Reserve, falling 14-0. Having soared to a lofty ten runs in the game before, the Trojans' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
McKinley saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Raegan Wynn, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base.
McKinley's loss dropped their record down to 1-19. As for Waterloo, their win bumped their record up to 8-5.
McKinley's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Waterloo has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for McKinley, though, as they've been averaging only 2.2 strikeouts. Will Waterloo keep running through batters, or will the Trojans buck the trend?
Everything went Waterloo's way against McKinley when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Waterloo made off with a 15-4 victory. Do the Vikings have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Trojans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
