The Armstrong Trojans will take on the Watseka Warriors at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Armstrong has four straight wins, Watseka has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Thursday, Armstrong made easy work of Cissna Park and carried off a 12-1 victory. The Trojans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matches by six runs or more this season.
Davyn Franzen and Bowen Hesterberg were major factors no matter where they played. Throwing, Franzen tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Hesterberg pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Franzen has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. At the plate, Franzen went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Hesterberg got on base in two of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. That's the most runs Franzen has posted since back in March of 2024.
In other batting news, Armstrong let Traxton Roberts and Rhys Showalter run wild. Roberts went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run, while Showalter went 1-for-2 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Becket Moran, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one run.
Salt Fork hit Watseka with a four-run third inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Warriors lost 8-1 to the Storm.
Watseka saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was James Newell, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI. Andrew Shoemaker was another, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Armstrong pushed their record up to 9-2 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Watseka, their loss dropped their record down to 1-9.
Watseka's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Armstrong has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .473. It's a different story for Watseka, though, as they've only averaged .300. Will they be able to contain Armstrong's hitters?
Everything went Armstrong's way against Watseka in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Armstrong made off with a 9-2 win. Will the Trojans repeat their success, or do the Warriors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
