The Chester Yellowjackets will take on the Murphysboro Red Devils at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Chester has three straight victories, Murphysboro has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
If Chester beats Murphysboro with 17 runs on Saturday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. The Yellowjackets never let Okawville get on the board and left with a 17-0 win on Thursday. The game marked the Yellowjackets' most dominant victory of the season.
Trayton Peters
| 04/14/26 vs Wesclin | 3 |
| 04/07/26 @ Red Bud | 3 |
| 03/18/26 vs Marissa | 2 |
| 04/28/26 @ Carlyle | 1 |
Trayton Peters made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Chester is 5-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 6-10 otherwise. Peters was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
Chester was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .444. They are 7-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Nashville hit Murphysboro with a five-run sixth inning on Wednesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Red Devils came up short against the Hornets, falling 11-4.
Murphysboro saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jackson Graff, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base and one run.
The win got Chester back to even at 11-11. As for Murphysboro, their loss dropped their record down to 4-21.
Murphysboro's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Chester 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 9.2 hits. Given Chester's sizable advantage in that area, the Red Devils will need to find a way to close that gap.
Chester couldn't quite finish off Murphysboro when the teams last played back in May of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can the Yellowjackets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
